Shoot to Thrill
by KatasaurusRex
Summary: AU - Charlie Swan was once one of the best damn hunters the world had seen. Partners with John Winchester, they had raised their kids together.. Until Renee took Charlie to court and Bella was taken. Years later, what happens when the boys meet up with one helluva huntress?
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I do not own TWILIGHT_** _ **nor any of it's affiliated characters, settings or exclusive content. TWILIGHT is the sole property of STEPHANIE MEYER and the publisher(s) of the book.**_

 ** _I do not own SUPERNATURAL_** _ **nor any of it's affiliated characters, settings or exclusive content. SUPERNATURAL is the sole property of ERIC KRIPKE and the CW and any other affiliated publisher(s) of the book, TV show, DVDs or other content thereof.**_

 ** _I do not make money off the writing, posting or sharing of any content of these two works. I ALSO do not own any MUSIC posted in this fiction. I will try to disclaim them individually, but this Disclaimer should be accepted as a blanket disclaimer for any that may be missed._**

1997, July

"Sammy! You just hit me in the ribs!" A young female voice whined from the back of a moving vehicle, causing the two adults up front to roll their eyes.

"I'm sorry, Bells! I can't control what I do in a dream. _YOU_ pinched me on purpose!" An equally young male voice whined back, causing a growl to sound from somewhere back there as well.

"Will you two _knock it off_? Sammy, stop flailing in your sleep. You're in a car. Bells, no pinching. Don't make me separate you because I do _NOT_ want to be in the middle."

Dual chuckles came from up front, causing hunter green eyes to flash at the two adults in the mirror, "Hello, **_PARENTS_**! Can you help me please? I'm thirteen, not thirty!"

Charlie Swan turned and looked at the trio in the back, "I'd say you're doing just fine with the two seven year olds, Dean."

Road trips were ALWAYS a hoot with this group.

John Winchester and Charlie Swan had been best friends since diapers, and hunters since the death of John's wife six and a half years ago. Dean was old enough to remember the fire that had trapped his mom to the ceiling and the bad man who was trying to hurt his younger brother and Bella.. He'd been fiercely protective ever since.

Oddly enough, Sam and Bella shared a birthday and were more often mistaken for twins. Sam had dark, sandy hair he'd inherited from his mother and Bella had dark hair from Charlie. Since it was apparent that Dean was also Sam's brother, they just assumed the two young children were twins. It worked well on some of their hunts. The kids always loved to be involved, and lately Dean was taking more to the profession than he used to.. He had a great skill for it as well as the drive and (when Bella and Sam were safe) focus.

John and Charlie were on the way to Phoenix, Arizona. There had been reports of all sorts of variety- a potential hunter's delight. So the kids had hopped in the Impala that Dean coveted more than his dad did and took off, packed with plenty of snacks, books, clothes and games for the kids in the back.

Sam had sat behind Charlie with Bella in the middle and Dean behind John, as he always sat behind the driver. It basically made him the driver of the backseat and he liked that. Bella had refused to not sit beside her Dean, so she stuck herself between her two favorite boys. Charlie and John had shared a silent look, amused by Bella's apparent crush on the teen.

They had just hit the state line when Charlie's personal line had started to ring.. _Renee_.

Renee was Bella's mother. Once Bella had hit age one, Renee had taken off. She was tired of being pinned down. She wanted to go out, live life.. And forget that her best friend Mary Winchester had been burned alive. She'd left Bella with Charlie because even at that age, she refused to leave Sam.. And the only one who could get her to stop crying was Dean.

"Hey Belly-Bean! It's your mom." Charlie crowed to the young female. She was engaged in a very heated game of travel Connect-4 with Dean.

"Tell mommy I'll talk to her later. I have to concencrate or Dean will win." She muttered in reply, her eyes not leaving the small board.

Charlie shook his head and flipped open his phone, "Hey Renee. Bella said she will call you later. She's gotta _CONCENTRATE._ " John snorted, holding in his laughter at Bella trying to use such an adult word as concentrate..

Then he saw Charlie pale.

"Renee, you can't do that. You haven't had her since she was one. Why on _Earth_ should I give her to you?"... "Well I don't care! Bella's still receiving a proper home-schooled education."..."You left her, Renee! What court on Earth would give you custody?!"..."UNFIT PARENT!?"

With that, John took Charlie's phone and threw it out the window.

The car held a very potent silence..

Bella looked up at the back of her daddy's head, "Daddy?"

Charlie turned and look at his daughter in the back.. One hand each clutching one of her boys, her beautiful brown eyes looking up at him in a watery plea.

"Sweetie... Your mommy wants you to come stay with her for awhile. She wants you to go to a real school and make some friends.. She says you won't be happy with us anymore."

"But I **_am_** happy! I swears! Don't send me away."

Charlie turned and looked out the windshield.. Silence descended on the car once more.

Two hours later, Bella was kicking and screaming as Renee forced her into her Jeep and buckled her into a booster-seat. She was kicking, screaming, biting and clawing but Renee was not budging. Sam and Dean were yelling for her, trying to get to her while John and Charlie held them back. Tears were running down all their faces.

Renee faced Charlie cooly, "If you decide you want to visit, call ahead first. You may come.. Alone."

John looked stricken. Renee had never had a problem with him that he knew of. At one point, she'd been like his sister. What had Mary's death turned HER into?

Bella beat on the windows.

"Daddy! Sammy! Dean! SAVE ME! Uncle John! HELP! Don't let her take me!"

Dean fought harder against his father's hold.

"BELLA!"

Renee quickly hopped in her vehicle and sped away..

Dean and Sam sagged in the hold of the older men and they all stood defeated as they watched their girl disappear...

AUTHORS NOTE:

We are having a wonderful contest on the site I frequent very VERY often, Tricky Raven. TR is now open to more fandoms as well, so don't feel like you can't join if you don't only write Twilight(wolves). I will post the contest information below...

V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-

Whether you enjoy the sweet and dreamy like candy apples or living nightmares like a slasher movie marathon on Netflix, this autumn, we have something in store for everyone. It's a time to **face our nightmares** , crawl out from beneath the covers, and put pen to paper as we turn those nighttime terrors into gripping tales of delightful fantasy and unimagined horrors.

The dreamweavers of Tricky Raven have been hard at work, scaring up tons of fun and competition for your enjoyment this September and October! Enter, if you dare, **Nightmares & Dreams, our third annual Halloween contest for Authors and Artists!**

This year also marks our first multi-fandom holiday competition!

This contest is **anonymous**. Our theme this year is **Nightmares & Dreams**. Stories should reflect the theme, but how you choose to interpret that theme is up to you. How does the theme speak to you? Let your imagination run wild! Halloween **song prompts** have been provided, though the use of prompts is not required. Choose a prompt from the list, but keep your story brief- stories must be a minimum of 1,000 words and no more than 3,000 words in length.

Artists, we hope you'll join us, too! You'll have more categories to enter this year than ever before!

Why is that?

Because it's still **The Year of the Ravens** and we're breaking new ground since the recent introduction of new fandoms and characters to Tricky Raven. Many new categories have been added to the competition this year. Check out the **Categories Page** to read more about all the new category options and some new and exciting options in existing categories. Be sure to tell your friends and spread the word to other writers and readers about the contest and new categories! The more entries we receive, the more awards we'll present!

 **TIP:** _This year's theme, Nightmares & Dreams, is a very broad theme. Bear that in mind when you plan your story! Readers would rather not read forty stories that all end with "And then he woke up. It was all just a dream." Flex your creative muscles. Show us something we've never read before. HEAs are not required! Shock us! Surprise us! Make us laugh! Horrify us! Keep us on the edge of our seats! But tell us a story we've never read before, too!_

 **No stories or artwork featuring graphic erotic content, sexual activity, or excessive nudity will be permitted in this contest.** This is not an erotica contest. Entries found to contain graphic erotic content will be disqualified. Not sure if your kissing scene or fade-to-black crosses a line? Check with an admin before submitting your entry.

Don't forget to mark your calendar!

Happy haunting!

 **We would love for you to join us on TRICKY RAVEN for our THIRD ANNUAL ANONYMOUS COMPETITION! I will give you a link if you message me or you can google the site name. We hope you'll join us!**


	2. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own TWILIGHT_** _ **nor any of it's affiliated characters, settings or exclusive content. TWILIGHT is the sole property of STEPHANIE MEYER and the publisher(s) of the book.**_

 ** _I do not own SUPERNATURAL_** _ **nor any of it's affiliated characters, settings or exclusive content. SUPERNATURAL is the sole property of ERIC KRIPKE and the CW and any other affiliated publisher(s) of the book, TV show, DVDs or other content thereof.**_

 ** _I do not make money off the writing, posting or sharing of any content of these two works. I ALSO do not own any MUSIC posted in this fiction. I will try to disclaim them individually, but this Disclaimer should be accepted as a blanket disclaimer for any that may be missed._**

2008, July

Dean let out a small yell of joy as he cruised down the open highway in the Impala.

HIS Impala.

When he'd gotten a real license at 17, John had signed the title over to him. He and Charlie were now cruising around in a baby blue Mustang they had restored from Bobby's old scrapyard.

Sammy was 18 now. He was taking him to his first bar to celebrate, a freshly made fake ID safely in Sam's wallet.

For years, the brothers had been solo now. Once, Sam had tried to go solo and live a "apple pie" life in college but that dream shattered when his girlfriend Jess was taken out by the same demon that had taken their mother.

With the help of Charlie, Team Winchester (John, Dean and Sam) had taken down ol' Yellow Eyes. Free from his obsession with revenge, Sam was content-ish to be back with Dean on the road..

They thought about Bella a lot. They used to talk to her on the phone whenever they could get away with it. Charlie would call, ask for Bella and then pass the phone over. But Renee caught them and since then it was harder and harder. Phone calls got shorter and shorter, letters got returned when Renee moved so they purposefully didn't have her address.. The boys always knew they were incomplete..

Was Bella happy? Did she do normal things? Was she going to college? Boyfriend?

Sam's phone chirped with message from Bobby sending them to a hunt in the same place they'd last seen Bella. Dean slipped his mask on and Sam sighed in sadness. So close to their Bells, but so far away..

When they arrived in Phoenix, the first thing they did was check into a motel. After that, they decided to hit up a local watering hole. Sam was nervous about drinking with his new fake ID, but Dean told him to suck it up and drink..

'The Canteen' was a hole in the wall place but it seemed to do a good business. They ordered a few beers and claimed a pool table. They hustled a few games, made some money and seemed to be having a good night..

Dean laughed when one of his favorite Cake songs came on the jukebox. He rolled up his sleeves and started singing along while he played against Sam.

"I want a girl with a mind like a diamond. I want a girl who knows what's best. I want a girl with shoes that cut, and eyes that burn like cigarettes"

Dean knew his perfect female was probably nowhere out there. She had to be as sexy as him.. He would love it if he found a female hunter who could keep up. The only one he knew was Jo and other than being jailbait, she was most likely an undercover lesbian.. He wanted a girl who could keep up with him in drinking, and who knew her way around an engine..

"I want a girl with the right allocations. Who's fast and thorough, and sharp as a tack. She's playing with her jewelry. She's putting up her hair. She's touring the facility, and picking up slack."

But until he found that girl, which would be never in his mind, he would play the field and scratch his itch whenever it needed it.

He noticed a lovely ass swaying by the jukebox and suddenly felt VERY itchy. He missed his shot due to the distraction and didn't even bitch when he had to surrender the run of the table to his brother.

Zooming out of her ass, he noticed she was a very nice looking (from the back anyway) brunette. She had lovely curves, certain ones currently wrapped in black leather to keep decency. A very short black leather skirt.. A very tight black leather halter top.. She also had on thigh-high leather black boots with "fuck-me" heels on them. She had a poolstick planted firmly between her legs as she swayed back and forth waiting to take her shot. Dark curls cascaded down her back to her waist and he wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

"I want a girl with a short skirt, and a long jacket..."

The girl turned to take her shot and from the side profile she looked almost familiar. He wondered if he could use the "Have we met in my dreams" line and get away with it since it was halfway a true question. He noticed she had a perfect rack- not too big, not too small.. He groaned.

"Sammy, I'm getting another beer."

He walked to the bar and ordered a few more beers actually, along with a couple shots of tequila.

"Whiskey sour on the rocks, two bottles and a shot'a crown, barkeep." He heard from beside him. He glanced over and saw a very female hand.. His eyes travelled up and there she was.

He must have caught her eye because she turned to him with a smirk, "Hey there, Cowboy. See somethin' ya like?"

His eyes widened as his heart almost stopped...

"Bella?!"

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella was itching for some entertainment as she loaded up her black Dodge Viper. She was finally 18, and free of that harpy Renee!

She had no clue the real reason her mother had taken her away when she was so small. She'd never really been a parent to Bella. She'd left her to her own devices mostly, only turning mean and angry when Bella was talking to Charlie on the phone, asking about the boys visiting and learning to research hunts on her own.

Renee was a horrible mother. To Bella anyway. She'd had another child with a new husband named Phil. His name was Zeke. Bella hadn't gotten to bond with him much... Renee had kept her away from him. Perhaps she was worried about what Bella would have told the small boy.

Armed with a new mint fake ID, she had went to 'The Canteen' for a few beers. She would crash in a motel and head to a motel for the night before heading to Bobby's.. She would beg for a case. She had spoken to her dad this morning and he had wished her well. She had made him promise not to tell Sam and Dean.. Her Uncle John had grumbled about that but she wanted them to find out after she had a few solo hunts under her belt.

It was pretty early and the bar was almost empty so she grabbed a table and figured as the locals started making bets she would have no problem taking their money..

She had laughed when the Cake song came on the jukebox, thinking about Dean. She had thought of him often, her affection for him never waivering. She had swayed along to the song before walking up to the bar, alcohol on her mind.

She noticed quite the attractive guy checking her out to her right so she turned with a smirk on her face and a quip on her tongue...

Her stomach clenched.

There was no way.. No way in HELL!

But the look on the guy's face said it all.. And it was confirmed when he said her name..

"Bella?!"

"Dean..."

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own SHORT SKIRT, LONG JACKET. That is a CAKE song, as mentioned. I do not profit from the use of it's lyrics in this fanfiction nor does the site currently hosting this forum.**_


	3. Chapter 2

Dean shook off his shock. Ironically, 'Shoot to Thrill' had started blaring..

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked, turning only to down the shot she had ordered and slap money on the bar.

"I could ask you the same thing! Aren't you supposed to be living some great normal life?"

Bella scoffed, "Please. I was _raised_ a hunter, I'll _die_ a hunter. I packed up and left Renee.." He didn't need to know how long she'd been on her own... Or how long she'd technically been hunting...

"Why would you do that? You had a chance!"

"A chance at **_WHAT_**? Watching life pass me by? Or maybe you wanted me to stay my mom's little bitch and silently put up with her hating me."

"Does Charlie know?"

"Yes! My dad knows everything. I made him promise not to tell you.. Or Sammy."

A hurt look flashed through Dean's eyes quickly before it was gone again, "You did? Why..?"

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes, "You would have tried to stop me.. It's not like you guys really fought to be in my life anymore anyways. I'm probably still just little Bells to you.. The girl who got sent away."

She turned to walk away with her drinks but Dean grabbed her shoulder, "HEY! _WE_ didn't send you away. Remember that, Princess?"

"You sure didn't come and get me either! Do you know how many nights I stayed awake, bags packed, just waiting on a rescue mission?!"

Dean growled and ran a hand through his hair, "We can't talk about this now. Too public. Do you at least want to come over to the table and tell Sammy happy birthday? I'm sure he'd shit his panties."

Bella tried unsuccessfully to hold in a laugh, "You're still ragging on him?"

"Eh, he's my brother. Gotta do something."

They walked over together and Bella motioned for Dean to stay silent. She walked around the table, keeping her back to Sam before bending over, not caring that he (and Dean) could see ample amounts of her cleavage.

"Well hello there, Birthday Boy!"

Sam's eyes widened and his shot went completely off the table. "BELLS!?"

She laughed and straightened up before holding her arms out to the young hunter, "Happy birthday, twin!"

Sam laughed and pulled her in for a crushing hug, spinning her around as they both laughed together.

Dean was sullen on the inside. She hadn't offered HIM a hug.. She hadn't laughed with HIM.. No, all he got was apparently a bitchy Bells..

Sam asked her all the same questions and actually had the nerve to ask what hotel she was staying at. Was Sam already hitting on Bella? For God's sake didn't she just call him her TWIN?!

"I'm at the hotel of the undecided. I've got everything packed, just no bed yet. It's fine. I'll think of something."

"Stay at our hotel. That way we can hang out."

Bella smiled and if Dean did 'Chick Flick' moments, he's sure his heart would have flipped or whatever.

"Sure! I was actually gonna finish my drink and head out.. Your brother pretty much caused me to shot-gun it all so I'll head by the local liquor store and we can continue the party."

"Sounds good to me, Bells. What about you Dean?"

Dean was snapped out of his perusal of Bella and nodded, "Yeah yeah. Sure. Fine."

Bella smirked, "Something wrong, Dean-o?"

Dean finished off his beer, "Not at all, Belly-Bean. Just gonna gear up for what I predict is going to be a _VERY_ long night."

Exactly 25 minutes later, Dean and Sam were watching Bella pull up in her own baby.

Sam gushed over it. Dean stayed leaning against the Impala while Sam went all around the Dodge.

He jumped when Bella spoke from beside him, "So you ended up with Baby after all?"

Dean smirked, "Of course I did. And the car that my brother is drooling over?"

" _HE_ was a gift from Charlie. His name is Alpha."

Dean nodded, grabbing a beer from a case he'd purchased and popping it open before doing the same with a second that he offered to her.

"Wanna hash this out here in the parking lot while Sammy's drooling? You don't seem too pissed at him."

Bella thought for a minute, taking a long draw on her beer before nodding, "Sure. Rooms should be a place to relax before a hunt and a place to argue only after one.."

She placed her beer gently on the trunk of the Impala before grabbing Dean by the scruff of his shirt and pinning him down next to it, "WHY DIDN'T YOU COME GET ME?!"

Calmly, he grabbed the two pressure points on her wrist, causing her to release his shirt. He gently pushed her away, though his eyes betrayed him. He was quite angry about that little move.

"Be civil. We're in public. Do that again and I'll have you on your ass." He warned. "As for the rest, Bells we tried! I tried to get to you while that bitch was putting you in the car!"

"Yeah but why didn't you get me AFTER? Hell, Dean! It's been ELEVEN YEARS!"

"Dad and Charlie never came back to Arizona after we left you with us... Charlie visited you but that was it. After that, we still never knew where you were. Charlie couldn't risk a federal kidnapping charge because he knew he'd get locked up forever and then demons would swarm. I wanted to come and get you, Bells. We both did. But we didn't know where you were and honestly after awhile we started to think you were better off having a normal life."

"DEAN WINCHESTER THAT IS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF CRAP I HAVE EVER HEARD! I waited for you. I cried for you! How can you tell me, after the first 7 years of my life, that I was better off with some bitch I didn't even know!?"

"I just wanted better for you! We both did! I'm going to die, a bloody and violent death. Sammy is going to die the same way! We didn't want that for you."

"WELL THAT ISN'T UP TO YOU!" She screamed.

Sam stood by, watching. Dean and Bella had gotten closer and closer to each other as they yelled.

"Dudes. Just kiss and get it over with already."

In perfect synchronization, both snapped their heads towards him, "WHAT?"

Sam shrugged, "Look how close you two are.."

The looked back at each other and jumped apart, causing Sam to laugh more.

"Bells, you used to say you were going to marry Dean when we were kids. Is that not true anymore? Breaking the engagement?"

Bella growled and shot a glare at Sam before picking her bags up and stalking towards the hotel office, "I AM SO GETTING MY OWN ROOM!"

 **AN: Hi guys! Kat here. Sorry I've been away so long. Thank you for your reviews! I have up to Chapter 14 completely finished (and still not anywhere near done)! I plan to try to post weekly updates. If I am completely overwhelmed with reviews (meaning you guys LOVE this fic like I do) then I may post faster. I hope you guys continue to read and enjoy. Thank you so much for your support!**


	4. Chapter 3

_Bella POV_

With a huff, I threw my bags onto the spare bed and myself onto the other. Fuck Sam.

Did I still think Dean was attractive? Yes.  
Am I happy to be with them again? _Yes_.

But I still had a lot of hurt to get over. They'd all but abandoned me and it seems they lived a happy go-lucky life without me and would probably have been content to stay that way.

Thinking like a hunter, I quickly got up and began to salt the borders of my room. I also used carpet fresh to make a rather nice devil's trap, a trick I found that had actually worked while with my mother. She'd been so mad, but when I purchased the stuff myself she could suck it- and I'd told her as such.

I didn't love my mother. Sad, but true. She'd been absentee from my life for years and then BAM!- Ripped away from the only family I'd ever known.. She'd placed all these bogus restrictions on my dad just so we could see each other. She didn't even act like a parent either. I'd get myself up for school, wait for the bus all alone.. Come home, do my homework, and make dinner.. I'd burned myself quite a few times teaching myself and I played my own nurse too.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body..

Once I hit my teens, I was able to get a membership to the gym at the YMCA to tone my muscles. Hard days and long nights of burning agony in my muscles, but eventually that stopped. On one of Renee's whims, we'd taken all the classes for martial arts that she could find. It made me think of my time spent in Bobby's old scrap yard.. Once, we'd even cleared it out and had a battle royale Thunderdome style.

A knock on the door ripped me from my thoughts. I grabbed my knife and edged to the door, slowly peeking it open.

Sammy's goofy grin could have blinded me through the crack I'd made.

With a growl, I closed the door to unlatch it and then opened it, careful not to break my salt line.

"May I help you boys?" I purred irritatedly.

"We come bearing a case and booze." Dean replied, holding up what looked to be a case of beer.. Then he smacked Sam's arm and he called attention to his laptop.

"Yeah sure, come in. No funny business, I'm still pissed. And don't break my salt."

 _Dean POV_

Walking into her room, I was quite impressed.. And maybe even a little jealous. Sam and I were packed into our room like sardines and she had an extra bed! Guess that's our fault though, not hers.. Well.. Sam's anyways. What a little bitch.

I noted the devil's trap on the floor, "That work?"

Bella smirked and grabbed a beer from my case, popping it open, "Of course it works. If it hadn't been tested I wouldn't have done it... Easily taken care of by house keeping."

I nodded, "Impressive, Bells."

I saw her flinch and it felt like a punch to my heart. I hated how abandoned she must feel. I felt the same way when Dad and Charlie used to leave us at hotels for days.. We'd left her with Renee for years.

Sam took command of the tiny hotelroom table and started talking about the new case.

"Seems like there's a basic Salt & Burn in Florida.. There's also a werewolf in Louisiana, a Djinn in North Carolina and, cliche of cliches, witches in Salem, Mass... Take your pick."

"Would you not usually look for cases in the state you're already in?" She quipped, taking a draw on her beer.

"Usually, but we figured you'd want to be out of Arizona as fast as possible.."

She made a face of agreement and killed her beer, tossing the one in the trash before opening another. She held it for a minute and I had it all figured out. She drank like Charlie. Kill the first one, nurse the rest.. Unless you were going to get drunk.

I tuned out their chatter, stupidly, and began to once again take in Bella.

She was so beautiful. It did make me feel like a perv, kinda.. She was legal now.. But this was Bella. I'd grown up with this girl. I'd protected this girl just like I protected Sam, lil Bitch. But now she wasn't a little girl.. She was a strong woman. You could tell just by looking at her that she had the strength and stealth of a panther.. Or any wild cat really. Her hair was so long that following it all the way down could end up with you slapped because it was right above her tailbone. I would love to run my fingers through it.. Like one kick ass angel.. Perhaps I shouldn't touch her at all, even in passing. I'd been to Hell...

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a pillow being thrown at my face, "DEAN!"

I glared at my brother, "WHAT?! Little bitch."

"Jerk.. We agreed on the Salem case but Bella wants to make a stop at Bobby's. Good with you?"

"Uh yeah, yeah.. Sure."

Bella raised an eyebrow, "What were you thinking so hard about?"

I cleared my throat, "Hell.."

She looked confused and Sam looked guilty..

"I think I'm going to run across the street and grab some pie. Anyone want anything?"

I stifled how her laughter made me feel inside, "You still have an obsession with pie?"

"Pie is amazing and never lets you down." I quipped.

She shook her head, "I'll have a slice of their pizza, a cream soda and grab a thing of Gatorade. I have money in my-"

"-Nope! It's on me. Especially seeing as Sam pissed you off and caused you to get your own room."

I ignored my brother's glare, "Sammy?"

"Water with anything that looks edible without meat."

"Aww Sammy. You're still doing the vegetarian thing? How do you survive?! The salads at that gas station are actually good though. All their stuff is. It's like a mini-diner. Amazing."

"It's not a THING, but yes. And fine. I'll have a water and a salad with ranch dressing."

 _Bella POV_

Dean left and I instantly turned to Sam, "What happened to him?"

He looked straight at me as if expecting me to believe his honesty, but I still knew his tick. "Nothing.. Same ol' Dean."

I growled and launched myself forwards, pressing my knees into his chest as I pinned him on the floor, "That is NOT the same old Dean! You looked guilty when he said Hell. WHY?!"

He struggled a bit before giving up, "You realize it's completely emasculating to have a female pin me like this."

"SAM! STOP FUCKING AROUND!"

He sighed, "Dean went to Hell..."

"WHAT?!"

"DEAN WENT TO HELL-"

And that's when the door opened and Dean was back..


	5. Chapter 4

_Normal POV_

Dean's face paled as he took in the sight of Bella with his brother pinned down and him screaming out secrets. Then the anger came.

He placed the food down before turning and slamming the door closed.

"WHAT THE HELL, SAM!?"

"Uhm.. Uh.."

"That was MY thing to tell IF I WANTED TO... AND I DIDN'T!"

Bella stood off of Sam and stood infront of Dean. Her eyes were glassy and her voice was small, "You went to Hell?"

Dean's anger deflated and he looked ashamed, "Yeah Bells.. I went to Hell."

 _Bella POV_

I was trying very hard to push back my tears. Dean, my amazing and strong childhood hero, had went to Hell...

I honestly couldn't fathom it. That would mean Dean had died, right? And that when he died he'd been a bad person?

Dean was never a bad person.. No matter how much of a 'meanie butt' he was when I was little, he'd also been my knight in shining armor. He'd saved me from vampires, rescued me from witches.. Once, I broke my leg when we were helping with a ghost hunt and he'd carried me all the way back to the Impala.. And we'd been a good ways away from it just in case.

So what had caused Dean to be sent to HELL?

"Why?"

I hated myself for how small and weak I sounded. But my heart was breaking for the man infront of me.

"It's all my fault." I heard Sam say, and I turned to look at him.

"What?"

I was led over to sit on my bed by Dean and he squatted down infront of me, "I went to Hell.. I made a deal with a Crossroads Demon.. I did it to save Sam. And I would do it again. Sam died.. So I made a deal to bring him back."

She glared at Sam, "How is that your fault?!"

"Because I was tainted.. When we were kids, the demon that killed mom fed me his blood.. He wanted to make me one of his children and we were supposed to lead some army. Dean and I went around trying to take him out while Dad was going for revenge.. It was down to me and one other and well.. He killed me."

Her eyes widened. "Woah woah woah.. So not only did Sam DIE but YOU-" she turned to glare at me, her beautiful hair flowing like silk as she turned.. (So not manly thoughts. Dammit Dean) "-YOU went to HELL and NO ONE TOLD ME?!"

I winced, "Bells.. That's not exactly something you want to go around telling people."

"WHAT?! SO NOW I AM JUST PEOPLE?! WHAT THE FUCK DEAN!?"

I growled, "STOP twisting this around! I went to Hell! Okay?! And even though you are still one of the most important people in my ENTIRE LIFE, it's not something I want to talk about!"

"How did you get out?" She growled..

I blinked, "Excuse me?"

She started looking at Sam and I suspiciously, "How.. Did you.. Get out?"

"I'm still really not sure but-"

"Wrong answer".. Then Sam and I were practically swimming in Holy Water.


	6. Chapter 5

_Bella POV_

I almost laughed at myself when all I got after their bath in Holy Water was glares.

Almost.

"A girl can never be too careful." I preened.

Dean ripped away half his shirt to reveal a tattoo.. I drooled a little bit on the inside (Dean's still hot... Come on) but then focused on the strange choice of ink.

"Dean, why are you flashing your nipple at me?"

I heard Sam swallow a laugh before answering, "Look at the tattoo."

"So he has ink. Big deal. I've got a tattoo as well.."

Dean huffed, "It's a symbol that stops possession! Dammit Bells, it's US!"

"You don't know how you got out of HELL! Come on!"

"Had you let me FINISH you would know it was-"

"Me." a strange voice said from behind me.

I turned and in an instant I had my gun, "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Dean pushed my gun down, "Bella. This is Cas."

"And how did he get in here?!"

"I am an angel of the Lord." This Cas person stated.

I burst out laughing, "Oh that's rich. Really. An angel. Don't you have a cloud to be sitting on with a harp or something?"

He looked confused, "I am not a cherub."

I cleared my throat, "Okay. So you are, supposedly, an angel."

"I am an angel of the Lord." He stated again, almost like a robot.

"You sure? You're a little weird."

"Cas isn't used to humans, Bells." Sam stated, drying his hair with a towel.

"It is I who raised Dean from Perdition. He is needed."

I glanced at Dean before looking back at Cas, "Needed?"

"To stop the end of the world, yes."

 _Dean POV_

Bella's face was quite comical. I had VIP status and it's about time she figured it out. At least it put Hell and torture out of her mind...

"So! Why are you HERE? In my room?"

"I sensed Dean's need of me. I've known Dean all of his life.. Hello Isabella."

"Dude, my name is BELLA." She growled.

Cas looked confused, "No. You are Isabella Marie Swan, offspring of Renee and Charles Swan. Conceived in-"

"WOAH! Stop right there, feather butt. I meant that I don't go by Isabella. I prefer to be called Bella."

"Just like we call you Cas but your name is Castiel." Dean tacked on.

Realization flickered through Cas' eyes, "I am sorry."

"Talk about my parents CONCEIVING ME again and we won't be friends anymore."

He frowned more, if that was possible, "Then may I request you not imply there are feather on my hindquarters?"

Bella giggled, "I like you, Cas."

"Er.. Thank you?"

I cleared my throat, "Okay Cas."

"You are no longer upset?" He questioned, looking at me in his normal way.

"Nope. All good here."

With a flutter of wings and no goodbye, Cas was gone in normal fashion.

Bella was back to smirking at me, "So you've got an angel on the payroll? Nice."

"Don't you mean WE?"

She looked down and picked at the motel comforter, "Dean. You're meant to save the world.. I'm just Bella Swan. I think it's best that we do this hunt and I go to Bobby's to get an assignment on my own."

My hands clenched, "No dice. You come with us or we don't go. That's the deal."

"Dean-"

"No. You had planned to come with us before you met Cas. You're not leaving now just because you found out we have a main mission to go with our side missions."

Sam broke the tension by placing Bella's not-so-hot pizza between us along with my pie.

We ate in relative silence.

"We uh.. We have to leave pretty decently tomorrow. Bobby's first, then the mission. No point in having two cars." Sam said, clearly not liking the silence in the room.

"Yeah uhm.. Goodnight then guys."

Back in our own room, I was almost asleep when I heard her start screaming...


	7. Chapter 6

**DEAN POV**

I didn't think about anything at all. Once Bella started screaming, I lost all control of anything. I shot up out of the chair I'd been about to sleep in (since I had lost the coin toss with Sammy and he'd gotten the bed), grabbed my pistol and burst out of our room.

"Bella?!" I pounded on her door, but all I could hear were the screams and my heart pounding in my ears. With a growl, I kicked own her door and rushed in.. Salt lines be damned. They could be fixed.

But no one was in the room with her.. She was in her bed, thrashing around. I put the safety on my pistol and set it on her nightstand before sitting gently on the bed to pull her into my arms. "Bells? BELLS.. It's okay. It's me. It's Dean."

Her eyes shot open and looked around wildly before settling on my face, "Dean.."

I watched relief flood those Bambi eyes that had always gotten to me and couldn't help asking, "What happened?"

I wished I hadn't asked as tears pooled and fell, "You went to Hell."

I sighed and shifted to lay her down on the bed before standing up. She grabbed my arm, eyes begging me not to leave and I shook my head.

"I'm going to close the door, fix the salt line and then you and I are going to have a long talk.. There are things that obviously need to be talked about tonight."

She sighed and sat up on the bed with a nod. As she looked down to fiddle with her fingers, I was reminded of the small girl who used to beg to cuddle with me when she was having nightmares or a hard time sleeping.. The girl who needed me and I let her down.

As soon as I sat back down, she was throwing herself into my arms. I almost protested, but it felt so good that I just couldn't find it in me to push her away.

"Yes, Bella. I went to Hell. I explained my reasons why.."

"Dean, that isn't what hurts. What hurts is that I knew without knowing."

That threw me for a loop, "Excuse me?"

"I used to have dreams about you.. You were hooked to all sorts of chains and I could feel the heat. You were yelling for Sammy.. Yelling for me.. Yelling for someone, anyone to help you. I didn't think it was real but.."

Bella was having prophetic dreams? Or were they simply sent to Bella because she was a weakness and Lucifer could see every bit of your soul..?

"We will have to talk to Cas about that. He can tell us if the angels-"

"Hello Dean.. Bella."

She jumped three feet into the air and hid under the covers, "FUCKING HELL!"

I smirked and uncovered her head, "You get used to it."

She glared at me and then at Castiel and I raised an eyebrow, "Cas. We talked about this. Knock knock."

"Oh! Uh. Who's there? Right?"

Bella snorted, "I think he was saying you need to knock, not tell a joke."

"Oh. Yes. I am unaccustomed to human humor. Anyways, Dean needed to speak with me, so here I am."

I groaned, "Cas, I meant later. Bella and I are having a talk."

She shook her head, "No. We might as well do this now."

Castiel tilted his head, "Dean, were you engaging in REM sleep in Bella's bed?"

"What?"

"You are in attire men in these days use for sleeping or recovering from coitus while trying to hide nudity."

Talk about a face-palm moment.. "Bella had a nightmare.. I wasn't thinking."

Bella giggled, "It's fine, Dean."

Even so, I grabbed an extra blanket and threw it over my lap, "Cas, Bella had dreams-"

"About you being in Hell with Lucifer. I know."

"What does it-"

"Mean?"

Bella growled, "Castiel.. If you do not stop interrupting Dean I'm going to duct tape your mouth shut. You're an angel so use your manners."

He looked chastened, "I apologize. Dean?"

I cleared my throat to push down my irritation and was shocked when Bella slipped her hand into my own. I looked down at our joined hands in shock before putting my normal 'Dean' face on and looking at Cas, "Yes.. Is she having dreams like this for a reason or was it Lucifer simply messing with her because of me?"

Castiel shifted in his weird way that he usually does, "I am not sure. I will get back to you."

Then he was gone.

A thick silence surrounded Bella and I. It felt like it was going to suffocate me the longer it went on. I was left staring down at our joined hands again with a million thoughts in my head. Why did she hold my hand? Why did I care? This was Bella, little Bells.. But she wasn't so little anymore.. Charlie would shoot me in the ass for what I was thinking about his daughter. But she looked so beautiful and her skin looked so soft.. Her hand felt soft..

If I hadn't already been to Hell, I would say I'm going back there.

"Dean?"

My eyes shot up to hers and I was captured. Everything seemed like slow motion as I lifted my free hand and lightly brushed my thumb over her lower lip, freeing it from her teeth. She always bit her lip when she was nervous as a kid, funny that she did it even now. My hand lingered on her cheek and she nuzzled into it almost.

She let out a shaky laugh and I raised an eyebrow, not wanting to be the one to break the silence.. Not sure if I even could.

"Even after all this time, you still make my heart beat faster than anyone else."

 **Bella POV**

I watched shards of pain crackle in his beautiful green eyes. What I'd said had hurt him?

"Why?" I whispered.

He pulled away as if he'd been burned and stood off the bed, "You know we can't. Ever."

I felt fury rip through me, "Why?! Tell me why! I'm not a little girl anymore, Dean. You don't have to protect me from anything, including _**you**_."

He flinched and I almost backed down. I knew his pain, I'd seen it with my own eyes.. Kind-of.

Almost..

He remained silent and I clenched my fist, "Dean!"

"Fine! Everything I love gets hurt. That's what I do. I get people hurt, or killed. I did things. Horrible things."

I narrowed my eyes, "You think I don't know?"

I saw the small shiver and the flash of broken-ness in his eyes before they were covered again, "I wish you didn't. You knowing doesn't change anything. We're hunters. You know that kind of life isn't for us. We don't get to have that."

I crossed my arms, "Get to have what?"

I wanted to hear him say it.

"Love. We don't get to have love, Bells. We don't get feelings. We don't get anything but what we have. Saving people and killing things.. We all have targets on our backs. We're all going to die horribly and painfully. I wish you had stayed out of this life."

"I never left."

He stood up and walked to the door, "Fix your salt line."

And then he was gone and I was alone again.

I flopped back on my bed with a huff. It wasn't like I was in love with Dean, but I did love him. I did want to see if it would go anywhere, even though I knew I shouldn't.

I fell into a fitful sleep, but I had no more nightmares that night..


	8. Chapter 7

**_AN: Hi guys! I just wanted to let you know that this fic does have illustrations where it's posted over at TrickyRaven. To join TR, you must be age 18 or older. Once you sign up, we can help you find the group(s) you're looking for. .Com_**

 **Bella POV**

The next morning, I quickly showered, dressed and packed. I wanted to get the Hell out of the little hotel room and out of Arizona. I messed up the devil's trap on the floor so that it didn't resemble something that would make the management call the police and nodded my satisfaction at it's normalcy. It would pass in any case.

I hefted my bag with me to check-out of my room and then hit the Continental Breakfast for some fuel. For such a small hotel, they had quite a spread and I enjoyed myself immensely. I knew that such a luxury would be scarce as I got back in to hunting, so I would enjoy the little things. I enjoyed a cup of coffee as I booted my laptop up, scanning the headlines along the way to Bobby's house to see if there was anything major needing attention. The world was full of the "big bad" and I was going to stop as many as I could before one "ganked" (Dean's word, not mine) me one day..

I raised an eyebrow as Sammy came strolling in as I sat down with my fresh waffle and a new cup of coffee. He gave me a small smile and held a finger up with a gesture towards the free food. I snorted out a laugh and nodded back, spreading a hand out as if to say "be my guest." I was acutely aware of his movements even as I kept my eye on the news ticker I had tacked to my desktop, enjoying a game of Spider Solitaire casually as I munched away on my food.

"Mornin' Bells." Sam greeted. I looked up and couldn't help but return his bright smile.

"Mornin' Sam. Where's your brother?"

He rolled his eyes, "Are you serious? Dean? Up in time for breakfast? That part hasn't changed, Bells."

I nodded, "Yeah, well I'm already checked out. I'm not above leaving him here for some shut eye after breakfast and you two catching up."

Sam frowned, "Don't be like that."

I clenched my fist hard enough to break my plastic fork and scowled at it before turning my heated gaze to my 'twin' as he dug into his own waffle. "Be like what? You act like we're supposed to be this amazing team who is finally reunited to take down Big Bad and save the world. Cas said it was all about you and Dean. The Winchester Brothers. Nothing about little Bella Swan, okay?"

"Look.. I know you're really upset still-"

"Upset? Upset doesn't cover any of this. I can almost get over the fact that no one came to rescue me from my psychotic mother, but Dean went to Hell.. Was no one going to tell me ever? Like at all? You guys can't expect me to just get over years of abandonment and then gloss over that fact. Add to that you've got a fuckin angel on the books, a mission to save the entire world, and your brother is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I can be whatever I want to be. See you at Bobby's."

I slammed my laptop closed and shoved it in my side bag, moving swiftly out of the lobby. I took my phone out of my pocket and began scrolling through my music as I made my way to my car.

I should have known better...

*OOMPF* Hot coffee all over my shirt..

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck?"

I heard the all-to-familiar husky laugh, "Where were you going in such a hurry, Hells Bells?"

I glared up at Dean, "You're supposed to be asleep."

He raised an eyebrow, "I am? I could have sworn we were supposed to be heading to Bobby's."

"You're a late sleeper.." I mentally slapped myself for that weak statement.

"There's a thing called an alarm. Besides, this way I get to eat a bit before hitting the road. What's got you so pissy?"

I glanced down at my soaked shirt, now-empty coffee cup on the ground and back up to Dean, "Ask your brother. And you owe me a fuckin coffee at some point."

I pushed past him to my car and sighed happily as I slid into the seat. Alpha was the only thing that had never let me down. I plugged my phone into the AC Adapter and activated my Pandora app since I was about to be driving. That's the great thing about the new burner phones these days, you could still have all the great things about a plan cell and there's no trail leading back to you.  
I turned my key distractedly as I reached into my bag for a new shirt. Alpha had been my home-base several times so I was more than comfortable inside. Perhaps a little too comfortable.. I pulled my soaked shirt over my head and was about to pull my new one over when I heard a strangled, choking sound from beside me. I smirked and slipped my shirt on before shifting to look.

Dean stood there with a bag in his mouth, a coffee in each hand and eyes wider than Texas.

"Cat got your tongue there, Dean?"

He held out the fresh coffee and I took it with a nod. He shifted the bag to his hand and cleared his throat, "You just flash everyone some skin when you feel like it?"

I rolled my eyes, "You act like I was nude." I smirked and gave him a sweet voice, "Haven't you seen a bra before, Dean? Perhaps one with the boob-meat inside it?"

He growled, "Of course I have! But damn, Bella! You never know who's watching.. Pervs everywhere."

I raised an eyebrow, "Like you? Or are you just jealous?"

I was baiting him and he knew it. He opened his mouth to reply but Sam walked inbetween us, "Ready to go?"

I smiled sweetly and closed my door before sliding my sunglasses onto my face, "I'll see you boys there."

 **Dean POV**

I frowned when Bella simply took off. I'm sure she knew where Bobby's was, but that wasn't the point. She was pushing us away.. And us included me.. And I didn't like that idea.

"What did you do to her?" Sam asked, sliding into the passenger's seat and giving me a pointed look.

"Me? Why does it have to be me? She told me when she ran into me, literally, that I was supposed to ask YOU why she was so pissy."

He laughed, "I made her pissy because I talked to her about you, man. So whatever you did to her, you should tell her you're sorry."

I shot him a glare and cranked the radio up before speeding out of the hotel parking lot. The faster we got out of this cop-having town, the faster I could gun Baby and hopefully catch up to Bella.

Sam occupied himself by reading a book along the way so I was left to my thoughts. Normally, I would enjoy having a drive without a lot of chit-chat, but today I really would have been happy for the distraction. If I was really the reason for Bells being so torn up, that would suck. I know I'm not the most eloquent and respectful person, but I do care about people.. Very few people, but people.

I wanted to make Bella happy. I know she was sore at us for leaving her with her mom, but we were just kids when she was taken. As far as we all knew, Bella was living a great life with her mom. She was getting to be a normal kid with a stable life. We missed her, and we were sure she missed us, but I also thought that after awhile Bella would forget all about the adventures we used to have in the backseat.. She had grown into a beautiful woman and my ego appreciated the fact that she still had an interest in me.. But was it the me now? No. Of course not. I had to face facts- Bella and I knew nothing about each other any longer.

Sometimes I wish that Cas had just left me in Hell.. I didn't deserve-

"You don't think you deserve to be saved?"

I jumped, swerving and causing Sam to bump his head against his window. He glared at me and I glared at Cas, "Cas! What the hell, man?!"

He simply blinked in that clueless puppy sort of way before repeating, "You don't think you deserve to be saved?"

"Stay out of my head, Cas!" I growled, "You may have pulled me from the hot box but that does not give you free permissions to go digging around in my brain."

"Dean. I do not think you understand how this is all meant to work."

"This?"

"Your life. God's plan has always been for man and woman to come together in a union. You seem to see Bella as a suitable mating partner and the same with her. Why do you not choose her?"

I could have banged my head against the steering wheel, and would have if I wasn't driving.

"Castiel.. Hunters do not get to have that life. I saw what happened to my mother when my dad tried to have that.. When he tried to give Sammy and me a real life. You think I want to risk that?"

"Everyone dies, Dean."

"Everyone doesn't die the way a hunter dies.."

I met Cas' eyes in the mirror before he repeated, "Everyone dies, Dean."

Then the backseat was empty again.

Dean glanced over at his brother and Sam just shrugged and turned back to his book. On one hand, he was smart to say nothing but half of Dean wanted to open up..

Dean nodded to himself, "No chick flick moments."

He turned the radio up to a volume that would occupy his thoughts but not disturb Sam's reading and drove on.


	9. Chapter 8

**Bella POV**

I had no idea how far ahead I was of the boys and I really didn't care at the moment. I was alone with the open road, my music and my thoughts.. Unfortunately, most of my thoughts centered around Dean, Sam and our situation.

Had I perhaps been given a prophetic dream? If I was seeing the future, did that make me prophet? That seemed unlikely because from what I knew, but there was a chance. If I wasn't a prophet, I was some weird psychic chick that had no control over what she saw in her head. That was a big sac'a useless.

"Stupid Winchesters." I muttered to myself.

Shifting in my seat, I wished I had a travelling partner to switch with like Sam and Dean did. I was going to have to stop somewhere soon for lunch.. I didn't really want to foot the bill for another hotel room so maybe when I was ready to stop for the night there would be a campground somewhere I could park at.

I pulled into a gas station and waved some cash at the window of the store. The attendant nodded and I heard the hum of the pump activating. I checked my phone as I started pumping and laughed at the unknown number, the text giving the owner away immediately.

'Guess who, Bells.'

'Well Twin. Pretty sneaky. When did you lift my number?'

'Sometime last night. Where are you?'

I glanced around and gave Sam a few vague details about where I was and my future plans.

'We'll find you later, Belly Bean'

I glared at the text on my phone before snapping my head up as the latch on the gas pump flicked. I glanced briefly at the total as I closed everything up. I slid my phone into my pocket, not bothering to reply as I walked into the gas station. It looked run down but still in business and I nodded to the same attendant before walking down the snack aisle. I grabbed a few bags of chips and a six-pack of Mtn Dew, making my way back to the counter.

"I'm gonna set these here. I'm gonna stock up for my trip."

The attendant nodded at me with almost lifeless eyes and I stiffened. Hopefully, this guy wasn't possessed and he was just stuck in a monotonous loop of gas station shifts.. I grabbed some water, some beef jerky and a few more things (like a great pair of large sunglasses with rhinestones on them.. I have a thing for sunglasses, don't judge me) before finally finishing up. The guy moved like a zombie as he keyed my purchases in, exchanged cash with me and bagged my items.

The creepy feeling hadn't left..

"Er.. Thanks."

Again, he nodded. I walked backwards out of the store, turning only when I was a safe distance away and swiftly making my way back to my car. I threw my stuff in the back and quickly started my car and left. I pulled over about five miles away under a billboard and killed the engine. Guilt filtered through me as I thought of the cashier. If he was possessed and I had just left that way, I had condemned his soul to die. I was a hunter, dammit!... But I was a hunter without backup and any way to call FOR backup if something went wrong.. no one knew where I was..

I exited my car with a groan and popped my trunk. I lifted the false bottom and sighed happily when I saw all my lovely 'toys' where they were supposed to be. I removed my favorite handgun and placed it in my ankle holster before replacing the false bottom and moving to arrange all my snack items. Every once in awhile a car would pass, but nothing happened to make me feel in danger.. But I still couldn't shake the cashier.. With a groan, I pulled my phone out of my pocket...

 **Sam POV**

Dean was fidgeting and I knew that meant we were about to stop for snacks and a stretch. I felt my phone go off and looked at the screen.

'Really bad feeling about the gas station I just stopped at. Possible possession. Thinking of checking it out.'

My blood ran cold. I know she was raised as a hunter, but she'd been out of the game for awhile.

'Where are you, B?'

She sent me the vague details of where she was and I was able to pin-point the area she was in. I told Dean about the situation and I saw him clench the steering wheel tightly.

'Stay put. We'll meet you where you are.'

 **Dean POV**

I pushed the gas down and Sam shifted in his seat. I didn't have time to worry about what was running through his head. Bella was wanting to take on a possible, POSSIBLE, possession alone. At the speed I was going, we'd be there in ten minutes. I'm sure we'd been at least a good thirty behind her because she'd push it to get away from us.. From me.

I groaned when I saw a long set of legs stretched out on the back of a sports car. Getting closer into view, my thoughts of it being Bella were confirmed. She had apparently changed in her backseat again into a pair of black shorts and a dark purple crop top. She sat up as I pulled behind her and it was so hard to see her as the little girl who had followed me around for so long. She had more curves on display than I saw that night at the bar.. She hopped down from the trunk and I felt like I'd been socked in the gut. It was almost slow motion when she smiled and lifted up her shades, her curls moving backwards to frame her face a bit. Those Bambi eyes were killer..

"Nice of you boys to join me."

Sam laughed and swooped her into his arms, earning a laugh. It was so hard to not be jealous of the way she and Sam seemed to reconnect instantly. Then again, they had been the 'twin's.. Why wouldn't she accept him back easy? They were the same age. Not much a seven year old could have done to save a seven year old.. But I was 13.. Guilt sliced through me like a hot knife through butter.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah. So. Sam didn't tell me much.. Care to fill us in?"

She slid her feet into some strappy boot things and I got a peek of a hip tattoo before she straightened, "Stopped for gas and snacks.. The guy at the counter was so creepy. I didn't notice until I walked in the store. It looked like that gas station should have been out of service for months, maybe a year or so.. But it was fully stocked and everything so who was I to judge? When I finally looked at the guy, he had no life in his eyes.. And he moved like a zombie.."

I nodded and moved around to the trunk. Sam joined me and together we began to go through our little weapons cache. Since we didn't know exactly what we were up against, we took a bit of everything.

"Oh look! You inherited the backseat toy store." Bella cooed, coming between us and throwing her elbows on our backs. I looked back at her with a smirk, "These toys aren't for sale."

She smiled lazily and waved her hand towards her own car. I followed along and let out a low whistle, "Nice toys, Bells."

She gave a small bow and picked up a small bag. I'm guessing it contained her own toys. There was also a handgun strapped to her ankle that I had somehow missed, so maybe the baddies would too.

"So are we walking or what?" She asked, shifting around to tie her hair up. It was almost a pity to see that silk hair contained.

I cleared my throat, "We can walk. Maybe we say that we caught a flat tire? Do they know you were alone?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so. He didn't really look at me, ya know?"

I nodded and we started walking. It wouldn't be too long until we reached the gas station. We formed a plan as we went and then silence.

My body coiled as the station came into sight and I heard Bella's breath hitch. "This the place?"

She nodded her confirmation and placed a hand on a holster she'd strapped onto her hip sometime while walking.

She hadn't been wrong. This station had seen better days and it almost reminded me of something from one of those Fallout games.. I walked straight up to the window where the attendant was standing and tapped it with my knuckle.

"Hey pal. Had some car trouble up the road."

He turned slowly to look at us and I almost took a step back. Bella was right about the guy's eyes. He simply nodded at us and turned back to stare at the front. I glanced at Sam and Bella before slapping my palm on the window a few times, "Hey!"

No movement this time.. I nodded to the others and we slowly walked through the front door. We formed a sort of triangle formation so no one's back was exposed and I tried to force my body to remain casual as I leaned forward to look at the nametag.

Skip..

I forced an easy smile on my face, "So.. Skip.. Is there a garage around that can help us or a phone we can use or..?"

He just stood there looking at me and my heebie jeebies turned into annoyance. Even possessed people usually respond to yes or no questions. I motioned for Sam and Bella to mind the gap while I stepped around the counter and laid my hand near the old cash register drawer.

The guy didn't even flinch.

"Guys. He's not possessed. He's a puppet." I gave a big grin at the lifeless doll and patted him on the shoulder, "Ain't that right?"

The guy collapsed into a heap and a piercing shriek filled the air. This guy was a front for the business, a bad one.. So what was so time-consuming that the person controlling the puppet was doing such a bad job?

"Bells, I'm willing to bet the only money in that register is yours. Sam, didn't you say there were some semi robberies around this perimeter? Seems like we found out why. Sam, check around for an illegal power hookup outside. I'm taking Bella's money back and then she and I are going to go look around."

He raised an eyebrow and went to open his mouth but I shook my head and banged my fist on the register. It popped open easily and I gathered the meager bits, shoving them in my pocket before pulling a pistol and motioning to Bella, "You're with me."

She nodded and we moved cautiously to the EMPLOYEES ONLY entrance while the little bell signaled that Sam had left. I took a breath and noticed the building was oddly scented.. Artificially scented.

We looked at each other and with a nod, Bella kicked in the old door. It fell with a thud and I covered my face with my jacket at the dust that filtered out.. And the scent..

"Sulfer."

Then the lights went out..


	10. Chapter 9

**Bella POV**

I couldn't understand how it went so completely dark. It was as if the windows had been completely covered in ink or the sun had been ripped from the sky. I coughed as the dust filled my mouth and reached in my pocket for my face-mask. I pulled it on quickly and let out a breath of relief.

"Dean?!"

I heard the click of a flashlight and looked over. I couldn't help but laugh and when he said me, he laughed too. Quite the pair, he and I. He raised an eyebrow and I did the same before reaching into my holster and pulling out my lovely little hand cannon that I pre-loaded with rock-salt bullets. My beautiful S&W 460XVR was one of my favorites. It was so perfectly versatile for this job, being able to shoot three different ammo types. He nodded with as much of an impressed look as he could and motioned towards the doorway we'd just kicked open. It was then I noticed that since the shriek and the darkness, it had been silent..

"Dean?"

"Yeah. I know. Big Bad wants to play hide and seek. Looks like it's time to call Olly Olly Oxenfree."

I snorted and we stepped into the doorway. In the dim haze of the flashlight, we were able to see it wasn't a back room any longer.. Something had carved through the floor and had made stairs of some sort. He waved his light down the hole, trying to see where the stairs led. The light faded before we could make out anything but depth.

"Lights would be perfect any time now, Sammy." I grumbled, earning a chuckle from Dean.

"What's the matter, Princess? Scared of the dark?"

Before I could give a comeback, a wave of inky black surged from the darkness and right at me. I fell backwards and hit my head, Dean yelling my name being the last thing I heard above the shriek.

 _"What's the matter, Princess? Scared of the dark?"_

 _I pouted as I stood in the doorway of our cabin. Uncle John and daddy had went to go pick up dinner, leaving Dean in charge of me and Sammy. Dean had gotten restless and wanted to explore. I was afraid.. Going out with daddy and Uncle John was different. They could protect me if anything bad happened. I knew that monsters were real and I was very small.._

 _"It's not the dark I'm afraid of Dean!" I cried out, stomping my foot in indignation. Dean had better be careful, or I would be a mean wife to him one day._

 _He stepped back onto the brightly lit front porch with a huge smile, "Awh come on, Bells. I'll protect you."_

 _The light popped and went out and I whimpered, clutching onto the doorhandle. I saw his shadow and tried to focus on Dean. Dean was with me and he wouldn't let anything get me, right?_

 _"You.. You won't let them eat me?"_

 _I could picture his grown-up eyeroll, "Why would I do that?"_

 _"Because it would be easier than a divorce!" Sammy cried from inside the house._

 _"Hey! You shut up!" Dean fired back. I saw his shadowed hand raise in offering._

 _"Come on, Bells. I won't let anything hurt you. Ever."_

 _My heart was pounding as I slowly let go of the door and took his hand. As we stepped off the porch I could see him smile at me in the moonlight. I felt safe and happy as long as I had Dean, my protector._

 _"Let's go play." I told him with a smile._

"Dammit Bella! WAKE UP!" I heard his growling voice and my eyes popped open.

"Dean?"

"Well it ain't the Easter Bunny."

"What happened?"

"This thing has shadow creatures on the payroll. They rushed us and one toppled you. You whacked your head on some broken concrete."

I slowly stood up and smiled as he handed me back my baby. "So where did they go?"

He shrugged, "Probably to collect a soul for their puppet? Until Sam gets the power on, we should stay put. This little flashlight is more of a liability if we go down there."

"You promised to protect me..." I whispered, half hoping he wouldn't hear.

 **Dean POV**

I looked at her though the darkness. I knew if I could see her in light and her beautiful face wasn't covered by her mask, there would be a blush. I could hear it in the way she whispered.

I reached out and grabbed her free hand with my own, "That's all I've ever tried to do."

My heart clenched as I thought back to our argument in the hotel. It was the truth that all I wanted to do was protect her. That's all I had ever wanted to do. It was so easy to jump in when we were younger and be her hero. The light in her eyes when she would look at me made me feel warm and powerful.

"I know." She replied, and I heard the hurt in her voice.

Before I could respond, I heard the whirr of the power lines and looked down so I wasn't blinded by stupid florescent lighting.

She pulled her hand from mine gently and brushed herself off, "Let's uh... Hunt."

I mentally face-palmed but remained stoic on the outside and nodded, "Family business."

We cautiously walked out the door and back into the main area. Whatever had swept through us had also blown through the store and wrecked it. I raised an eyebrow at Sam as he made his way through the rubble.

"It took so long because the power was never active. Whatever has a hold of this place was able to generate electricity on and off as needed. Did you find anything?"

I shook my head, "Not really. There's a giant set of stairs it threw together that leads down into a big hole. My flashlight didn't even make a dent in the darkness."

He frowned, "I doubt the gas station's power would help any. So what do we do?"

We went back and forth with a few ideas, each one shot down by the other.

"Boys..." Bella tried to interrupt.. We kept talking.

"Boys...!" She tried again. Still nothing.

I jumped when a shot ran out right next to me and debris fell from the ceiling. We both stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"There. Much better. Now. Dean, are you sure the guy up front was... gone?"

I nodded and she looked at Sam, "No power for years? You're sure?"

He nodded.

"Well then. Let's gather all the supplies we can from this place and wipe it off the face of the Earth."

"You mean..."

She smirked and nodded, "Let's light it up."

 **Bella POV**

It took a few hours for us to gather all the edibles we could and place them a safe enough distance from the station. Sam went back to get the Impala while Dean and I prepared the building for burning. Everything had to be salted so there was no chance of escape. I stepped into the dank ladies' room to salt the window and caught a glimpse of my reflection.

In the glass, my reflection began to twist and change. My mirror image pulled down their mask and looked at me with a sneer.

"You know why he doesn't want you? Because you're not good enough. You're not good enough for anyone. That's why your dear daddy didn't come save you, that's why they didn't save you- No one will save you! You're WORTHLESS."

I clenched my fist, "You're wrong. I am good enough. You're wrong."

"I'm wrong? Really? Sam and Dean are meant to save the world and you're just little Bella Swan. All too happy to drop you off at Bobby's and ride away into the classical music sunset."

"I have a place.. I know I do."

"Yes. In HELL. Not with the Winchesters. And surely not with Dean. He'll never want you, little Bella. You're not good enough for the world's most unknown savior."

"Who ever you are, tell who ever sent you that they can come and get me themselves."

I punched the mirror and watched as it fell to pieces. Dean stuck his head in the doorway and I shrugged, offering no words before exiting the room.

He raised an eyebrow as he watched me toss my empty can of salt into the pile of others, "Yeah.. Uhm.. Sam's back with the car. I'm good if you are."

I nodded, "Let's go then."

As we drove away from the burning station back to my car, the words of the mirror kept playing through my head..

 _Worthless.. Not good enough.. Never want you.._

 **Dean POV**

Though the ride was short, I could tell something was wrong with Bella the entire way back to her car. When we pulled up, she barely let Sam get the seat up before she was out and mumbling that she'd see us at Bobby's. Stunned, I watched her practically throw herself into her car before speeding away.

Sam glared at me, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"Then what is wrong with Bella?"

"I don't know, Sam! I'm just as clueless as you are."

He pulled out his phone and punched a few buttons before tossing it back in his bag with a growl, "She turned off her phone."

I sighed, "I guess we'll have to figure it out at Bobby's."

 **For a look at Dean and Bella's masks as well as Bella's weapon, please see CHAPTER 09 on TrickyRaven**


	11. Chapter 10

**Unknown POV**

I watched as she drove away, determination blazing in her eyes. She was still trying to run from us, eh?

"Master, she is on the move and vulnerable. Her emotions have caused her to ditch her companions."

From the shadow, an almost Cheshire smile appeared, "Excellent. Perhaps we should send a team to check on the poor girl."

I chuckled, "As you wish."

 **Bella POV**

As I drove, I felt very isolated. Part of me wished I was in the Impala with the boys, joking with Sam or trying to avoid my feelings for Dean. No matter the time apart, they were still my boys. We'd been raised together in that back seat for my entire childhood.. Then Renee ruined it. Dean thought by leaving they had saved me from something, but all they had done was left me vulnerable.

Now I was taking my life back.

I made sure to turn off my phone, turning on the other I had for emergencies. I drove until I was exhausted and then I would pull into a secluded area of road to sleep for a few hours. When I was about two hours away from Bobby's, I felt a tingle of awareness. With a small smile, I nodded to the empty car, "You can come in, Cas. Front seat and all."

I still wasn't used to him just appearing out of nowhere, but knowing when he was going to do it (almost) was a small comfort.

"Hello Isabella."

I sighed, "Bella."

"Hello Bella. You are not with Sam and Dean."

"Very observant, Cas. No. I am not." I mentally chuckled to myself as I tried to speak like the strange angel in my passenger seat, then giggled more as I realized what I'd just thought. Angel in my passenger seat.. Sounded like a terrible country song.

"Why are you not travelling companions any longer?"

I sighed, "I needed some time, Cas. There are things that they don't know-"

"Like that you are being followed?"

Bella stiffened, "Followed?"

"You are being watched or tracked. You are certain to be confronted soon."

Bella groaned and then banged on the steering wheel, "SON OF A BITCH!"

Castiel frowned and Bella almost tittered with glee at his shifting, "Your unhappiness is noted. What happened? If you don't mind me asking..."

Bella glanced at him with a small half smile, "You don't know already?"

"I know the technical aspects. Dean tells me there is usually more to a story than what everyone else sees. I am trying to learn your human ways."

Bella did laugh that time, "From Dean Winchester?"

Castiel attempted a shrug and Bella wondered how long his small idiocyncracies would amuse her. Probably for awhile.

"Dean is my.. Friend. That is the acceptable term, yes? My first human friend. As much as he has survived, I think it would be wise to learn his ways. I would also like to learn from you, if at all possible."

Bella inwardly groaned. It was so hard to NOT talk to the featherhead.

"A year or so after Renee took me away, Renee decided that a camping trip to the mountains was a great idea. I don't remember where we were, but I remember that I was miserable. Renee found some guy and left me in the cabin alone. I was used to cabins, but I'd never been alone.. I had always had Sam and Dean or Dad and Uncle John. It was creepy. I was young. It was getting dark when I heard it.. It sounded like Sam and Dean calling for me, saying they were there to rescue me. Eight year old girls don't really care about logic when they're dying for someone to save them, so I went running out the door."

Castiel frowned, "How would they have known where you were?"

"Like I said. No logic. By the time I realized what had happened, they were there. I don't really know what they are yet. Boogie men? Sirens? Pied Pipers? All I knew is they lured me out. They looked humaniod. They began muttering about how I wasn't ready yet. They sent me home but they told me they would be watching and waiting to take me. A few days before my birthday, they stopped me at Renee's. They said I was almost done and their master would see me soon. I was supposed to be his freaky bride or something."

The passenger angel raised an eyebrow at her statement, "That is disgusting."

She nodded, "I found a few things I could do to try to escape them. Shortly after, the boys found me by accident."

Castiel shook his head, "It was no accident. Up there, I hear murmurings. Forces pushed the three of you together. The reason is still unclear to me, but I promise to find out. However, you should stay close to the boys. It is how it is meant to be."

And then Castiel was gone and Bella was left with an empty car. She sighed happily when she saw Bobby's entrance and pulled in happily. She felt a warm rush and knew it was because this place had always been like a home. Glancing around the old lot, she saw that Alpha's spot was still empty and happily pulled in.

She had been out of the car for five minutes when the shot rang out. She ducked quickly and rolled her eyes, "Dammit Bobby! It's Bells!"

She heard the creak of his porch steps and stood slowly, hands in the air.

"If you're Bells, then come on through. You pass the test, I won't shoot you dead."

Bella rolled her eyes but walked through the archway. She mentally counted the seconds before the large stream of holy water soaked her through when she tripped the light sensor. She growled and spit out a small mouthful of water as Bobby began to laugh.

"Ya happy now?!"

"Aww Bells. You look like'a drowned rat!"

She ran her fingers through her soaked hair and glared, "Yeah yeah. Nice to see you too."

He shook his head, "Come on in then. Yer daddy just left."

"Go figure." She muttered, reaching automatically for a towel as they entered the mud room.

And yet, she was happy.

 **DEAN POV**

Sam and I sat in silence. It had been his idea to "tap the angel" and get him to see what was wrong with Bella.

Part of me was glad we knew.. Part of me hated that we knew..

Bella was supposed to be a bride for some sick freak?

Anger, disgust and a whole lotta other emotions rolled around in my stomach as I drove, clenching and unclenching my fingers around the wheel. She was probably at Bobby's by now and we had a good twelve hours before we were there too. At least she was safe at Bobby's. Hopefully, he would keep her there.

"Dean?"

I sighed, knowing Sammy couldn't just sit in silence.

"Yeah Sam?"

"We won't let it happen."

"I know, Sam. I know."

He tried her cell again and again we got the same greeting. I almost wanted to tell him to play it a few more times, just so we could hear her voice. If whatever was after Bella got to her, she wouldn't be Bella anymore. They would kill her, internally if not physically.

With an internal growl, I pushed my foot farther down on the gas. Time to cut this twelve hour ride short.


	12. Chapter 11

**Bella POV**

After a shower, I had pretty much crashed out in my old room. It was one of the best sleeps I'd ever had.

One, because I knew I was in one of the safest places I could be. Bobby Singer was one bad-ass hunter, even though he was retired. His home had more defenses than Fort Knox and if anything was going to get in, more power to it.

The other reason was that the room I stayed in had been my room with Sam and Dean when we were younger, and it was clear the brothers still used it. I had crashed in what had been my bed, but the scent embedded into my pillow had been all Dean. The inner girly-girl in me wanted to come out and scream and flail and jump around... But I mentally gagged and subdued that bitch. It had been made crystal clear that nothing would ever happen with me and Dean. Ever. So I had allowed myself to relax and take in the comforts of a home away from home and sleep..

Until I heard the cussing and shooting and banging around. I glanced at the clock and growled. Throwing the covers off, I practically stomped down the small set of stairs towards the mud room.

"You boys better be careful. Bella beat ya here an'-"

"WINCHESTERS!" I yelled, hands on my hips as I stood on the porch. I'm sure I looked like a big ball of raging fury and they should have been scared.

"B-Bellaaaaa." Sam cooed, looking like he wanted to shrink and hide.

"It is THREE in the morning. I was in the middle of the BEST FUCKING SLEEP. Why do you have to always be so LOUD when you enter a place? I don't see how you have any successful missions because you're both so FUCKING. LOUD!"

Sam looked sheepish and Dean raised an eyebrow, "Well hello to you too, Princess."

 **Dean POV**

Okay, so provoking a newly woken Bella had never been a good thing. However, I was also tired and had pushed like HELL to make it a full six hours early. Granted, had we arrived at nine, Bella would be throwing pancakes in my face rather than... I dodged the brick she threw at my head.

"Shut the fuck up, Dean. Get inside and shut up before I go get my S&W and shoot you in the ass. Or some duct tape. Remember when I was five and I wrapped it around your head completely and it got stuck in your hair..?"

I took her in with wide eyes. Oh yeah, she was serious. With a nod I glanced at a smirking Bobby. He gestured with his arm and we started to move in as Bella huffed and stomped back up the stairs.

After showers, Sam said something about catching up with Bobby and I was headed upstairs to crash. Entering the room we always stayed in, I stopped short. I was used to coming in and flopping on her bed, even though it had long since lost any trace of being hers except for the small drawings plastered to the wall. My heart clenched as I saw her there, hair fanned out across the pillow. She looked relaxed and peaceful. I remember when she used to curl up in bed with me when she had a bad dream and I'd notice a small smile.. There was no smile now. She simply looked content.. I missed that smile.

"Stop staring at me, Dean. It's creepy."

I laughed and moved over to my old bed that I hadn't slept in for who knows how long, "Thought you were asleep."

"I was until some loud ass brothers woke me from my amazing slumber. It's hard to get back to sleep after engaging Bitch Mode." She opened one eye and smirked over at me, "You should have waited for cheerful Bella. She comes with breakfast."

I knew it!

With a groan she sat up, bunching the blanket up in her lap in the way that I swear is all female... and Sam.

"You tried to steal my bed."

I smirked back, "I did steal it. For a long time."

She stiffened and I mentally kicked myself. She looked so cute and sleep rumpled. If I wasn't trying to NOT think of her that way, I would think natural Bella was sexy. But I couldn't think of Bella that way. It would only lead to- "Pancakes?"

I blinked, "What?"

She laughed, "Are you really going to bed or do you want pancakes?"

I glanced at the clock, "Four AM pancakes?"

"They come with a side of punch to the ass if you're not nice to me before I've had at least an entire pot of coffee."

My eyes widened, "Uhm. Yes. Sure. Thank you. And for the safety of my glorious ass, I will chill out in here until you're done unless you need my help."

She stood and stretched before walking past me and patting me on the head, "No. Stay out of my kitchen."

As she walked away I realized for the first time what she had worn to bed and as soon as the door closed, I slapped myself in the face. Who the hell invented tiny little cotton shorts for girls to sleep in? She'd slept in a pair of dark green ones that drew attention to the curve of her ass as she walked away. Green shorts and a black tanktop.. Black and green.. My two favorite colors.. Did she even realize?

I slid my hand under my bed and pulled out my sketch materials while I waited. Drawing had to be the least manly thing I did, but it was calming. It was something I had control over and what I had to draw didn't have to be 100% real. I had finished sketchbooks full of proof that I was able to clearly imagine a happy life.. Sketches of a life that would never be.

 **Bella POV**

I had just finished putting the last plate on the table when Sam walked in. He hovered in the doorway, shuffling from foot to foot and refusing to actually look at me. I huffed and crossed my arms.

"What is it?"

"Bella. I love you. You know I do. But you haven't had nearly enough coffee..."

I glared, "Spit it out, Sam."

"Why the hell are you dressed like a sorority girl at a slumber party?"

My eyes widened and I looked down. I could feel my cheeks heating up. I'd completely forgotten! AND DEAN HAD SEEN ME LIKE THIS! I groaned and drained my coffee before making another cup.

"I've got to go get Dean for breakfast. I had no idea. Grab Bobby and I'll be back down in an outfit that doesn't make you feel icky."

He laughed and in retaliation I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a big kiss to his cheek. He grimaced and I laughed even more before rocketing up the stairs.

I walked into the room and gathered up a non-embarrassing outfit, "Breakfast D. Go ahead and go downstairs. I've got to uh.. Change."

I turned, expecting to be alone but he was still sitting on his bed.. I noticed the sketchbook in his lap and the box of charcoal pencils beside him. Hmm..

"Dean? Bacon."

No response.

"Dean? Aliens just landed in the front yard."

Again, nothing. With a groan, I wrapped myself in the blanket from my bed and did a flying leap onto his own. "DEAN!"

He flailed around before glaring at me, "WHAT?!"

I glared back, "I've been trying for ten minutes to get you the fuck downstairs. Don't mess with me. Get out so I can get dressed and you can shove food down your throat."

He rolled his eyes before hopping off his bed and marching out of the room, closing the door behind him. As I got dressed in a pair of black cargo pants and a dark green tanktop with the Jack Daniel's logo on it, I 'happened' to glance down at his sketh and gasped. It was me. He had taken several artistic liberties in my mind because there was no way I was that beautiful.. The way everything had just seemed to flow.. Dean was talented. Had always been talented. I sad smile graced my face as I realized that in another life, Dean could have done this for a living..

"Bells! C'mon! Pancakes!" I heard his rough voice float up from the stairs and I made my way out of the room.

"I'm coming, Dean. Jeez. Hold your horses."

I paused as I stood in the entrance to the kitchen. With Uncle Bobby and the boys around the table, it could almost be a normal setting, a normal breakfast. Everyone already had their plates made and someone had even fixed one for me. Coffee and OJ were sitting in the middle of the table for easy access. It was a real family setting. The 'real family' bubble lasted for awhile as we ate and talked, catching Bobby up on how we'd all been. Of course, he had seen the boys more than he'd seen me so I basically felt like I was hogging the conversation. I was enjoying the easy atmosphere. It seemed like there were no secrets or monsters and I thought the only thing that would have made it better was my dad and Uncle John.

The bubble burst when one of Bobby's many phones began to ring. With a groan, he ambled his way over, checking the tape label before answering, "You've reached Mike Kayser."

I rolled my eyes. Someone hadn't been too convincing when giving their FBI badges. Sam snorted and we shared a small smile while Dean speared another piece of pancake.

"Balls!" Bobby groaned, hanging up and flopping back into the kitchen chair, "Yer dads are idjits! No wonder you two boys became idjits too!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Our dads?"

"I told 'em to make sure they grabbed the new badges. That was the PD in the town I sent 'em to. Seems to be on the up and up. Says the badges are old. BALLS!"

I shook my head, "You should have told them to turn over the old ones for the shredder before letting them leave."

Bobby gave me the stink eye for a second before shrugging, "They're only a few towns over. I'll make the quick trip. You guys stayin long?"

Bella shrugged, "Depends on the world, I guess. You're the only one who doesn't seem to have a problem with me hopping back into the business. And I guess I'm stuck with Sam and Dean for awhile until we figure out if I'm a part of their save the world mess."

Dean cleared his throat and I glanced over at him before standing up, "I'm going exploring."

"Bells.." Sam tried but I held a hand up to stop him.

"Sammy. I'm not going anywhere that Bobby doesn't already have protected. I just need space."

Sensing the tension, Bobby made himself scarce after instructing the boys to wash the dishes and I turned to pour a thermos of coffee to take outside.

"Bella, what exactly are you running from?"

I stiffened before shaking it off, "Nothing, Sam. I'm going outside."

I quickly made my way out to the old junkyard, shaking off the negative feelings that had tried to grab me. Bobby had moved Alpha into the garage and I smiled at the fact that he'd anticipated what I was going to do.

"Well Alpha. Time for an oil change, boy."

I pulled up my hair and felt happiness course through me at the sound of the hood popping. At least this was one thing my feelings for Dean would never ruin.. My love for cars.

 **UNKNOWN POV**

Entering the room, I tried to contain my nerves. Master hated bad news and I hated to be the one to give it.

"Hello Pet. How did the visit to Bella go? I'm interested to hear of her progress."

I fidgeted and his red eyes blazed, "Master.. We were unable to get close to Bella Swan."

"WHAT?!"

I cleared my throat, trying to remain calm, "It seems that an angel has placed Enochian runes on her that we cannot bypass right now.. We're working to remedy it but until then, we're in the dark."

His roar shook the room and I looked down at my feet.

"FIND HER! FIND HER! SHE IS MINE! I HAVE WAITED! FIND HER!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Dean POV**

When I woke up, the house was quiet. This wasn't an unusual thing, but it just didn't feel right. After cleaning up the dishes, Sam and I had crashed upstairs. Bella had left her blanket on my bed and I'd slept perfectly because this one was one she must have dragged out of her car. It was getting harder to ignore the growing feelings I felt for Bella, but I was determined to do it.

I rubbed my face and looked around the room. Sam was sprawled out on his bed, mouth wide open in silent snores. I shook my head and wiped the sleep off my face before getting up and going downstairs. Bobby must have still been out because he wasn't in his library with a beer or puttering around doing Bobby-like things. I half expected Bella to be in there soaking up all she could to get back in the game, but she wasn't there. She wasn't in the kitchen, either. It took me awhile to figure out she still wasn't in the house. I grabbed a shower of my own, thinking maybe by the time I got done she would be back. It was around time for lunch, surely she'd be hungry?

Wrong.

I sighed and threw on my boots, making my way outside. I heard Bobby's gruff laughter as I made it to the back gate and curiously made my way towards it as it joined in with Bella's. After a couple minutes, I realized they were in the back garage area. I'd had to rebuild Baby back there a time or two so I knew the way well. Bobby must have been changing her oil..

When I made it to the makeshift opening (basically two old cars pushed enough apart for a person to walk through before opening to the garage area) I stopped and stared, stunned. Instead of Bobby under the hood, it was Bella. She'd tied her top up in a way that girls tend to do and I saw the creamy expanse of her back as she leaned over the engine. I couldn't make out their conversation but whatever Bella had said made Bobby laugh and shake his head.

I felt like an intruder. I was about to turn around and leave when Bobby spotted me and waved.

"Dean!"

Bella turned and I groaned. The sight of any beautiful woman bent over a car would turn on any male.. But BELLA was bent over the car, looking over her shoulder at me and.. NO! BAD DEAN!

I forced myself to walk over, hands in my pockets, "Sup?" I mentally smacked myself.

Bella straightened and started wiping her hands on a work rag, "Just catching up with Bobby. Trading stories. Giving Alpha an oil change and a tune-up. You know."

Her cheeks were flushed from the heat and her eyes were sparkling. I knew the joy that came from working on your car and Bella seemed to be overflowing with it. Bobby cleared his throat and nodded towards the house before just walking away, leaving me with Bella. She shrugged and started working on her car some more, but I could tell she wasn't really doing much.

"Need any help?"

She glanced over and shook her head slightly before turning her gaze back away, "No thanks. I've been taking care of this car since I got it. It's kind of like how you are with Baby."

I nodded, "I can understand that.. So.."

"Have you heard from Cas?"

I cringed and muttered, "Not in the way you'd like.."

She stiffened and turned to stare at me. Her eyes held no warmth and I wondered why on Earth I was worried about what a woman six years younger than me thought. I knew why.. Because Bella wasn't just any woman. And even though we'd been apart for so long, she was the girl I was stuck in the backseat with for years.. The girl who I wanted to protect and care for.. The girl who had stuck a claim on me before she even hit double-digit age. Our dads were partners, best friends..

"Dean?..."

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair, "Sammy called in an Angel Tap.. We uh.."

She let out what I could only call a bellow of rage, if females even bellowed, and threw a wrench on the ground before kicking the tire of an old junker, "YOU SENT CAS TO SPY ON ME?!"

I held my hands up, "Hold up there. Not me. It was Sam's idea because you turned off your phone. I told Cas you would be angry but the angel doesn't know any better. He's like a toddler."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, jutting out a hip, "So. Did you get to hear everything you wanted? Are you happy now that you know my big secret?"

"No! Jesus Bella! I'm glad I know that you're running from someone but I'm not glad you're in danger! And I damn sure didn't want to find out that way. I would rather you have felt that it was important enough to tell us you were on the list to be married to some Big Ugly!"

She picked up a wrench and threw it at me and I barely had time to dodge it hitting my head, "What reason did I have to just spill my guts to you and Sam? You think just because we found our way back to each other for some reason that it wouldn't hurt that you guys were gone? That wouldn't be weary of you leaving again?"

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to yell back, "Bella.. I know you wish we had came and took you back but you don't understand. There are things you just don't understand! Yes, you had a horrible life while I thought that you were happy in a normal one but I'm sure it wasn't all bad. I'm sure you dated and made a few friends.." In fact, I remember the one time I had come to check on her...

 _As soon as I got my license, I begged my dad for a car. I was sixteen but instead of thinking about freedom and the open road, I thought of Bambi eyes pleading with me to save her. She should be about twelve now.. I told Sam my plan so he wouldn't get worried and send Dad adter me and I was gone. He'd shocked me by letting me take the baby out, my Baby. I'd pilfered the address from Charlie's files and took off since I knew we weren't that far._

 _I tracked her to a local middle school. Students were milling about when I pulled up, so I assumed it was lunch time. I scoped the area and my heart almost stopped when I saw her. I knew it was her not only by the photos that Charlie kept up to date, but because she looked exactly as I pictured her to be. Pre-Teen beauty who I'm sure doesn't know it. I took two steps forward before I stopped. She wasn't alone.. I saw her wave with a smile on her face and two other kids sat down; one boy and one girl. The boy tossed his arm over Bella's shoulder and made some remark that made her laugh. I swallowed my jealousy as I made my way back to the car. Bella was fine. She didn't need us anymore..._

But Bella didn't need to know that...

She clenched her fists, her eyes blazing with anger, "Yeah. I dated. And I made acquaintences, not friends. I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I was free. I wanted to go back to being a hunter. And you may not have been able to save me, but you didn't have to abandon me!"

"YOU THINK I WANTED TO LEAVE YOU THERE? You think I enjoyed watching your mother force you into that car? My dad had to hold me back from running over and grabbing you. Do you think I felt good leaving you there? But I promised to protect you and I thought I was doing the right thing!"

"Dean, you had a choice! You could have called or written or had my father pass along a secret message. You could have done something, anything, to let me know you didn't forget me! I loved you Dean and part of me still does! You were my hero, my knight in denim armor.. And you just left me behind like I was nothing."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and I could feel my eyes getting heavy and shiny. "Bella. I'm sorry. I was doing what I thought was best. You're right, I should have fought like Hell to keep you in my life but I didn't. I thought you would forget me and be better off. I'm sorry that I was wrong and I'm sorry I hurt you but I'm here now."

"Yeah! You're here now! But it's still not right between us, is it? Yes, I'm hurt over the past but now I'm hurt because you know there could be something great between us and you're just ignoring it and me. Yes, you explained everything but.. Dammit Dean.. I know you have a perfect eye for detail. That means..." She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, "You can see the pain in my eyes and you still don't care.."

 **Bella POV**

Typical Dean fashion, I didn't hear him when he moved close to me. I jumped when I felt his fingers curling gently around my upper arms. I slowly lowered my head and fought to not let it affect me when I looked into those eyes, ironically so hunter green. My heart was going to burst if he didn't say or do something. We were too close. There was too much..

"I care." He growled out, his eyes going through so many emotions I almost got dizzy... That could have just been the effect Dean had on me though.. Or a little of both. Our foreheads touched and I clenched my eyes shut. I'd never had feelings like this before, but I didn't expect them to turn me into such a wuss.

"Dean..."

"You've stood here for the last ten minutes screaming at me, so just listen. I'm a jerk. Possibly the biggest jerk you will ever know. I do know that there is something here.. Between you and me.. And there damn sure shouldn't be because I'm six years older than you and you call my little brother your twin."

"But-" I pulled back to look at him again in a plea and he sighed, placing his hand against my cheek.

"Let me finish... I care about you and that's dangerous. You have to understand that anyone I've ever been close to ends up dead or hurt. My own mother..."

"Dean, your mom wasn't a hunter.. She only married one. I know what I'm doing. I can handle it."

He stepped back shaking his head and I felt a wave of sadness sweep through me.

"Bella.. I know you can handle yourself. The problem is, I would put you above everything else.. Above the mission, above the people we save.. And if we ended up having that family future, would it be fair to raise our kid from infancy in the back of a car? The hunt is in my blood and I know it's in yours. Just look at how fast you jumped back in the game once you were able. We don't get to live long and happy lives, Bella."

"Dean, I don't need a long life! I just need one with you in it!"

"I'm here. I'm in it. This is just all we're ever going to have because we can't have that kind of happy. I wanted you to know that when I do picture myself happy, it's with you."

"Is this a bad time?"

On instinct, I threw the nearest thing to me.. Which happened to be some sort of tool. Cas stared at it as it hit him and fell to the ground, a blank look on his face.

"DAMMIT CAS!" Dean growled, "Yes! This is a very bad time! Pick your damn moments!"

He blinked and looked at me, "Bella. You are upset."

I choked out a laugh and blinked away the tears in my eyes, "Yes. I am upset. It's okay though. It will all be okay. That's all I ever am is okay."

I pushed past Dean and swiftly made my way into the house. Sam was sitting in the living room with Bobby and I ignored him as he tried to get my attention. I heard his footsteps on the stairs after me so I quickly slid into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Two seconds after I locked the door, I heard his hand grip the doorknob. It rattled and I heard his sigh when it didn't open.

"Bells?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now, Sam. I'm going to grab a shower.. Just.. Please. Not right now."

There was silence on the other side before I heard his fingers slide down the wood of the door, "I'll bring you some clothes and leave them outside the door, okay?"

I smiled even though tears were now streaming down my face, "Yeah. Thanks Sammy."

"Love you, Belly.."

"Love you too, Sam I Am."

 **Dean POV**

I wanted to go after Bella, but I knew if I did that I would end up giving in. I had walled myself off from emotion for most of my life, but Bella caused them to break free. I glanced over at Cas and cleared my throat, "What was so important that you needed to interrupt?"

"I am sorry for the intrusion. We really should bring Bella back. This conversation concerns her."

I glanced over to where I could just barely make out a very angry Sam stomping his way towards us and I laughed, "Yeah. That's not going to happen. Sam's on his way to have a bitch fit so.."

"Should I wait?"

I shook my head, "Nah. I'll call you when we're all back together again."

His eyes bored into mine, "Dean. I caution you. Bella cannot leave you and Sam. It will not end well for anyone."

Foreboding gripped my gut but I nodded, "Got it. See ya."

I turned to Sam just in time to catch his right hook to my jaw, "YOU MADE HER CRY!"

I winced and felt to see if I still had all my teeth. I did.

"Would it matter if I said she made me cry too?"

"No!"

I groaned, "Sam! What did you think was going to happen? I can't be what she wants."

"You can too. You're just scared! And I've never seen you scared of anything."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Sam. I'm the older brother here, okay? Trust my judgement."

He pulled my hand away from my face and whacked me over the head, "You're being stupid!"

"You're being-"

"IDJITS!"

We stiffened and turned to Bobby who had his hands on his hips and a sneer on his face, "Yer daddies are on their way back here. They wanted to see you before they took a new case. Get yer shit together or that girl is going to take off and none of us will see her again. I love you boys like my own sons, but yer IDJITS."

I froze.. Bella couldn't leave.. And not just because of the Big Bad chasing her.. It would destroy me.


	14. Chapter 13

**Bella POV**

After my shower, I had pretty much locked myself inside the library. I didn't feel right making it so the guys couldn't go in [our] room so I snuck off into the library with my iPod and earbuds. Sam and Bobby had tried to coax me out with lunch, but I felt more like being alone. Dean was allowed to make whatever choice he wanted and he even had some valid arguments, but that didn't mean that was going to feel good. When Sam interrupted my musical sulking to let me know that my dad and Uncle John were going to be arriving at some point, I figured I might as well come out and face the music.

Dinner was entirely awkward.. Sam and Bobby had sat so Dean and I had no choice but to face each other. Dean was sporting a black eye and I raised an eyebrow at Sam who simply shrugged and tried to hide his smirk by stabbing at a few green beans. I ate quickly, making sure to clean my plate so Bobby didn't whine about me not liking his cooking. The truth was, he was a great cook and I had learned all I know about cooking from him and his deceased wife Karen's old cookbooks. Her hand written recipies seemed to call to me.. The first day I made an apple crumble from her book, Bobby had cried and thanked me.

As soon as I was able, I snuck out to the old shop house for the Salvage with a bottle of vodka in tow. I crawled my way up to the top rafters like I used to do with Dean all those years ago. I remember the first time we'd been found up there, everyone was confused as to how we even got up since the ladder had been broken down for years. We'd just shared a secret smile and shrugged. I curled up in my old nook, now more snug that I remember it being. I tapped around on my phone before setting it on one of the stray beams and uncapping my bottle. I flicked out my pocket knife to remove the "Stop Bella From Drinking Fast" cap and chucked the offensive plastic object into the shadows.

I felt the tingle and groaned, "Does it have to be now, Cas?"

He appeared, balancing perfectly on a beam. He looked all around before looking at me in that straight-laced Cas kind of way, "I wish to.. Apologize."

I shrugged, the several gulps of Vodka making me feel warm inside, "You were put up to it. Since you're not used to how these things work, I don't expect you to understand why it was wrong. No need."

"Then.. I wish to tell you that you are protected as long as you stay with the Winchesters."

I groaned, "What?"

"They boys. They wear a tattoo marking of a symbol to ward against possession. You now wear the same after coming in contact with them. However, you have a brand that no one can see."

My eyes narrowed and I sipped from my bottle, "Go on..."

"In an attempt to protect you, I have warded you with Enochian sigils while you slept. Sleeping makes the process less painful. You cannot be tracked. However, they are woven into the ones that were warded into Sam and Dean."

"Into?"

"They are on your bones. Your ribs to be more specific."

I could have face palmed, "So you internally carved me out while I was sleeping?"

"In a way. I can remove them, but it is a much more painful process."

I shrugged, "Nah. Angel lo-jack. Cool."

He looked at me in a way that seemed sad for him, "Bella.. I am sorry for your hurt. Though I know the outcome now, I cannot help you through the process."

I raised an eyebrow, "The outcome?"

"Your destiny is written before your conception."

And he disappeared. I growled and threw a rock at the empty space. Stupid angelic featherheads with their cryptic speak-words and bone-carving secrets. However, for the time I could not be found by my trackers and that made me glad. Why? Because I could get drunk instead of just buzzed.. And I really needed to get drunk.

 **Dean POV**

I paced back and forth up in our room, a million thoughts running through my head. Bella had pretty much locked herself away after our encounter and had only come out because she was basically forced. I had heard her bolt out of the door as soon as she was able and while I knew I should stay away, a large part of me was cussing me and demanding I go after her. I had tried to draw, but every sketch was coming up Bella in some shape or form. It was maddening. I ground my teeth and let out a growl and turned like a caged beast when I heard the chuckle.

"Boy, you are some kinda stupid."

"Bobby.. You of all people should understand."

He nodded, "Oh I understand. Perfectly. And part of you is right. It's going to be hard and painful and you'll pay an awful lot of attention to that girl if she's holdin' any part of her heart in her hand.. But aren't ya gonna do that anyway, son? She's travelling with you.. You're going to be seeing an awful lot of each other and she's gonna be right there on your hunts."

"But if I lose her and it was my fault..."

Bobby sighed and motioned for us to sit on the bed. I did so slowly, my fingers twitching against my jeans.

"Dean.. If it was me and my Karen, I wouldn't deny her for the world. Any second with her was precious, and if she was here it still would be. No one is saying it's going to be easy or perfect. No one is saying you have to have everything all laid out and planned and set in stone. Life isn't plannable, boy. Neither is love. Can you honestly say that if Bella left here with Charlie that you would be okay? I don't think you would. I think you'd rather be there to protect her, even when she doesn't want to be protected."

I looked down at my feet and sighed. He slapped me on the back and I glanced over, "You don't think this is wrong? I watched her grow up for seven years.. She treats Sam like her own brother."

He shook his head, "I was eight years older than Karen. As for her relationship with Sam, don't you want a girl who will love your brother like her own family?"

"I don't want to hurt her."

"You already are, seems to me.."

He stood up and hooked his thumbs through his belt loops, "Stop bein' an idjit as best as yeh can.. And I can't believe I'm gonna say this but go out there and kiss that girl senseless."

I let out a shaky laugh and stood up. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Any time."

He made his way out of the room and I grabbed my jacket before leaving as well. I made a detour to grab a case of beer out of the fridge as a peace offering and made my way outside. When she wasn'tint he car yard working, I knew there was only one place she could be. Sure enough, when I walked into the old Salvage garage, I saw her booted foot swinging back and forth to the music that I assumed she was listening to. I heard her humming along and decided to wait a bit. If she was listening to a song that would make her angry, I didn't want her to push me off the top. I was older now and it would probably hurt more.

"I want you to want me."

I snorted at her mumble singing. Cheap Trick? I was hoping she wasn't completely hammered, but singing the most cliché of songs about love made me roll my eyes.. I loved the classics, but that was downright corny. I glanced at the beer under my arm and thn at the swinging leg. No way was I climbing up there and having all this beer survive. I gently put the beer down (because it was definitely going to be needed) and climbed up enough to where my upper torso was visable to her. She raised an eyebrow and I motioned for her to remove her headphones.

"Can I help you, Dean?"

"I'd like to talk." I said in a matter of fact way.

"I think we've done all the talking I can handle." She growled out, taking a sip from her bottle. I raised an eyebrow.

"Vodka? Really? Come on. I've got beer and we can lay on the hood of Baby like we used to."

"Yes. Vodka. Shut up. And fine but I want to listen to music!"

Buzzed Bella was adorable and I nodded before hopping down and collecting the beer. I watched as she dropped her Vodka on the ground and was never more thankful for plastic bottles. She flipped her way down soon after and I smiled at how adorable she looked. I nodded my head towards my car and she shrugged before following.

Bella and I used to lay out on Baby's hood and talk all the time. We would look at the stars or the clouds or anything that caught our interest and just talk. After she was taken by Renee, I used to lay on the hood and pretend she was still there..

As we walked towards Baby, I glanced over at her, "Are you drunk or can you still hold an actual conversation?"

She sighed, "Unfortunately, I'm still pretty much sober. You caught me early."

I nodded and helped her up onto the hood. I heard her take in a sharp breath as our bodies brushed against each other. She gripped the sides of my jacket and I placed her Vodka beside her on the hood.

"You okay, Bells?" She was fighting so hard to not blush and I grinned, "It's okay, I'll just turn on your music. Hold on a sec."

She snorted as I moved away from her and I heard her rummage around in the beer box, "That's right. Dean doesn't do chick flick moments."

I ignored her barb and hopped up beside her before fixing her with a smirk, "Are you going to be cranky this whole time? If so, we'll continue this later and you can drive yourself crazy wanting to know what I wanted to talk about. You did a buncha yellin earlier, sweetheart. I've about had enough of being the bad guy in this general vacinity. So be nice or I'm taking my beer and going elsewhere."

The glare she gave me was half-assed and I knew I'd gotten somewhere, "You really expect me to be nice to you right now? I'm a female, Dean. We don't tend to like getting our feelings hurt."

"I'm a male, Isabella. And a much older one than you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but I'm not going to tip-toe around you and act like I'm terrified of what you're going to do next. Now, either be a big girl, be nice and drink my beer or go back to your perch with your Vodka crap and we'll talk another time."

She glanced at her Vodka bottle, "The intention was to get drunk."

"Drunk is not good for the conversation I want to have."

She slid off the hood of the car gently, picked up her Vodka and waved, "Well then we'll talk tomorrow. See ya!"

I shrugged and laid back with my hands behind my head. I heard her shuffling footsteps in the dirt and wondered if she would be back. I understood her anger and unwillingness to be cooperational. Honestly, I didn't know how to handle her right now. She was like a ticking timebomb and anything I said would most likely be taken the wrong way.

So I made the decision for her. I turned the radio off, I collected the beer and I went back inside.

 **Bella POV**

I glared at Dean's retreating back as I watched him go back inside. As much as I wanted to hear what he had to say, I also didn't. I was angry and hurt and wanted to stop feeling anything where Dean was concerned. So I proceeded to drink my Vodka until the bottle was empty..

I crawled my way inside at around three in the morning. Bobby was sleeping on the couch, TV playing softly in tune with his snores. Sam was in the recliner beside him and I guessed they'd crashed out watching a movie or something. I crept my way upstairs as silently as I could and into 'my' room.. Even if I did have to share it.. With two guys.. Ugh.

Dean was laying on his bed with his arms behind his head much like he had been on the car, but I could tell by the steady rise and fall of his breathing that he was sleeping. I tried to pass out in my own bed, but I was growing increasingly frustrated. No matter how I laid, I couldn't get comfortable. My pillow wanted to be too flat, my blanket to constricting. I sat up with a huff and jumped when I heart the clearing of a throat. I looked over blearily at Dean and he simply cracked open an eye and held out an arm. I hesitated a moment before crossing the small distance and curling up against his chest with my blanket twisted between us.

"Doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you." I muttered, cuddling into the crook of his shoulder. He let out a husky laugh and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in the way he used to. I tried to ignore the butterflies that flapped around as he kissed me on the forehead.

"I know. Go to sleep, sweetheart."

I took in a breath of his scent and relaxed, feeling the tendrils of sleep make my brain fuzzy, "Kay.. Night Dean-Bean."

He groaned and I giggled before falling into a nice sleep.


	15. Chapter 14

**Bella POV**

When I woke up, I was alone and cuddling Dean's pillow. I was surprised to be completely fine, no hangover to speak of. I rolled over and looked around the room before noticing the clock glaring the time 01:00 at me.. Damn!

I groaned as I rolled off Dean's bed, literally, and crawled over to my bag of clothes. I grabbed a random set of clothes before getting up and making my way to the shower. The initial blast of cold shocked me into awareness and I glared up at the showerhead before finishing up. Bobby's shower didn't have the tendency to stay hot for long and I really wasn't up to finding out mid-conditioning if he had gotten around to fixing that EVER. I dressed quickly and efficiently and wondered how it ever took a woman more than ten minutes to get completely ready for the day.

Walking downstairs, I noticed it was really quiet. At this time of day, the house was usually pretty active and noisy. When I entered the living room, it was empty. Odd..

I heard a shuffle from the kitchen and made my way that way, thinking maybe the guys were eating lunch. Instead I found Dean, a kitchen table full of newspaper mess that only came with Hunters and a sandwich that was being shoved in the mouth of said hunter. I froze remembering last night and had every intention of turning around and leaving when he looked up and smiled like a chipmunk with puffed out cheeks. I winced as he swallowed what must have been a very large mouthful.

"Well. Good morning, Hells Bells."

So we were going to ignore everything? Still leary, I leaned against the doorway and forced a small smile, "Hey. Where is everyone?"

He sat back away from the computer and gave me his full attention, "Welp. With our dads coming in maybe a day or so, Bobby figured it might be a good idea to stock the house with food and booze. It's apparently been awhile since they got together, kinda like us."

I rolled my eyes, "The local police are going to refuse to come out here again."

He laughed, "I remember that night. Jodie was so mad."

"We're on a first name basis now?"

He cleared his throat, "There was a case.. Awhile back.. Bringing the dead back to life.. Her son and Karen.."

I nodded, crossing the kitchen to fix myself some coffee, "Enough said. So. Find anything interesting?"

He waved me over and I went to stand behind him. He started telling me about the few cases he found. I got distracted as I felt the space between us start to vibrate. Dammit, there was just no getting over him while he was this close and I was stuck with him so sayeth Cas. Damn that featherhead!

"Bells?"

I shook myself from my thoughts and our eyes locked. I blushed, "Yeah? Sorry. Guess I'm just not up for all of the talking about cases so early."

"It's cool. Want some lunch? I was just about to finish up here and go work on giving Baby an oil change until Sam and Bobby came back..."

 **Dean POV**

The tension in the kitchen could almost be cut with a knife. I'd explained to Sam and Bobby what happened the night before and they'd left with a bunch of excuses. I knew it would be awhile before Bella woke up so I made myself busy with business. We needed to find a case soon. Evil didn't take a vacation and the quiet was unsettling. When Bella walked through the doorway, I knew instantly. I almost let her scurry away, but I was tired of this dance we were doing. I'd made up my mind after talking with Bobby and her wanting to get drunk had only been a small hiccup on the path to me spilling my guts like some chick. I only wanted to have to do this once, so she'd better damn well listen.

I ended up giving her an easy out to begin with. I'd let her eat and I'd go outside for awhile before coming in to corner her. Instead, she surprised me.

"Actually, is it cool if I grab a quick sandwich and then come out with you? I really hate being alone and I remember you saying you needed to talk to me.. I wasn't exactly cooperational last night."

"And you will be today?"

She blushed and I mentally groaned. Bella had to have no idea that she was killing me slowly. It was bad enough it seemed like her entire wardrobe was made up of nothing but black and green... But her just being her was intoxicating.

"No promises, but I'll try not to yell at you and then get drunk."

"Fair enough. I'm gonna head on out so I can get everything ready. See ya out there."

I let out a breath as I walked out the door. I was completely out of my element here. I was great with women usually, but that's because I wasn't spilling my guts to them. This was Bella. She was special and deserved more than I could probably ever give her. I'd already had everything out for the oil change so I popped the hood and went right to work.

I had just pulled the plug to drain the oil into the pan when I heard her shuffling steps. I rolled my way out from under the car and wondered, not for the first time, how I'd been lucky enough to have a life with Bella in it. She was beautiful and seemed to fit right in any element we placed her in. She had a couple of beers dangling from her fingers, her hair tied up and a SINGER AUTO jumpsuit pulled on halfway, the arms knotted at her waist. She was without a doubt my dream girl.

"It's five o'clock somewhere." She said, handing me one of the beers. I simply nodded and popped the cap before taking a long pull from the bottle.

"Thanks. We might want to discuss your drinking habits later down the road, but I'm not complaining."

"What's wrong with my drinking habits?" She pouted and I laughed, holding up the bottle.

"Budweiser, Bella? Come on. Have a little more respect for yourself."

She laughed and pulled a few tires over to sit on while we waited for the oil to drain. "So. You wanted to talk, let's talk."

"As long as you promise not to tease me because I'm completely out of my element here."

"Ohh. How so?"

I smirked, "We're about to have a chick flick moment."

"You don't do those."

"Exactly. Bella, I haven't exactly been fair to you..."

She stiffened and stood up, draining her beer in one go. "Dean, can't we just forget any of this happened? Ever since that fight, things have been so strange."

"We can forget the fight.. But there are things I don't want to forget, Bella."

I took the few steps to close the distance between us and turned her around. She bit her lip and looked at the ground, so I had to gently coax her to look up at me. Looking into her eyes, I saw everything that I wanted and had denied myself for so long. I also saw her hesitation and fear and it hurt to know that I put it there.

"I'm not good with words, Bella. I won't promise I will always be able to say the right thing or even do the right thing. I'm pretty sure that I will screw up a million times, but I will always try to make it right. I will piss you off, I will drink too much on occasion and I will do entirely reckless things if it means I can save you or Sam." She opened her mouth and I cut her off, "BUT! I will never purposefully hurt you.. I will protect you. I will hold you if you're upset. I will do anything you ask of me as long as it's in my power. I will make this work, if that's what you want. Because I want you.. I want you so much that I'm pouring my heart out in the biggest chick flick moment I've ever known in front of the car we spent years together in."

She let out a shaky laugh, "Dean?"

"Bells."

"Will you just kiss me already."

I let out a soft laugh of my own and hooked my fingers through her belt loops, pulling her towards me. Her arms slid around my middle and she danced her fignertips over the hard muscles of my back. All of the emotions that had been simmering under the surface rose like a tempest and her heart felt like it was on a rampage. My hands buried in her hair, fingers twisting and tangling in the thickness, and bunched at the back of her head.

 **Bella POV**

His mouth was soft, yet possessive. As his tongue breeched my lips, I gave a small moan. The kiss quickly began passionate and deep. After what seemed like forever, he slowly lifted his lips from mine, breath being the only reason for stopping.

For moments afterwards, I kept my eyes closed. I could still feel the warmth of his lips and I was afraid if I opened them, it would all be a dream. I couldn't take this being a dream!

When I finally got the courage to open my eyes, I looked up to see him staring down at me with a smirk on his face. Then in the space of a heartbeat, he slowly lowered his mouth back to mine. Unable to stop, I sighed deeply and leaned into his strong arms. My legs felt like rubber and my head was spinning but I didn't care. In fact, I revelled in it! My hands crept up his chest and around his collar before drifting down to clench the soft cotton of his shirt this. This kiss was passionate and long. It was the sweetest kiss I had ever known.

A loud horn interrupted us, causing us to break apart. I placed a hand on my pistol holster on my ankle as I dropped to a crouch while he pulled a knife from a hidden place in his jacket. Then we heard the laughter.. I huffed and stood up before crossing my arms. "You think you're real funny, don't ya old man!?"

"Who are you calling old? Stop sucking face with my son and give me a hug!" The gruff, familiar voice of John Winchester yelled as he stepped out of a cherry red brand new Chevy Impala. I rolled my eyes and ran over to hug him, ignoring the fact that he basically upgraded to a newer car from the one he had.

"Bella Marie, what on Earth...?"

I smiled sweetly, "Well. We originally came out to change the oil in the car..."

My dad's eyes narrowed, "You better stay away from his dipstick."

They roared with laughter and Charlie slapped Dean on the back in greeting as he joined us. I noticed Sam and Bobby exiting a car behind them, relief evident on their faces. I looked at Sam with raised eyebrows and he smiled sheepishly. We would be speaking later, that was for sure.

I felt the brush of fingertips across my own and glanced over at Dean only to see him looking back at me with a nervous expression. I smiled at him and moved a little closer to him before lacing our fingers together. Dad and Uncle John looked between us for a moment before my dad simply raised his own eyebrow. I guess I'd picked the habit up from him.

"It's still very, very new. Don't ruin it." I growled at my dad, pointing at him in warning. His eyes widened and I heard Dean laugh before he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. I leaned into him slightly and felt a wave of happiness wash over me. We still had some talking to do and a way to go, but this was just where I wanted to be.

Bobby cleared his throat and motioned towards the house, "So guys. Beer's in the house, as usual. Sam an' I just got back from the store with extra stuff so let's haul it in and let these kids finish the Impala before they tell us exactly what happened while we were gone."

After another look at Sam, we broke into our little groups like the old days as Sam, Dean and I walked back towards the Impala and the three old-men-troublemakers made their way inside. This was going to be interesting...

 **Unknown POV**

I watched through the eyes of another as that filthy hunter touched my beloved Isabella. It wasn't her fault. She was innocent and pure. He was the one who would corrupt her and sully her perfection.

I roared my anger when my spy could not get closer. It had been a stoke of fortune that one of my minions had heard Charlie Swan speaking about his daughter. I'd had them take the form of another to blend in and follow them.

Those stupid Enochian wards wouldn't hold forever. I would break them. Bella was ripe for the claiming and she would be mine.

And then we will watch together as Dean Winchester is ripped apart slowly, painfully and brutally...

 _ **AUTHORS NOTE! - YES! I just gave you a HUGE chunk of chapters! Remember, these ARE illustrated with photos on TrickyRaven and they get updates FIRST. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. I've been trying to update a little at a time to try to boost reviews but with 2016, I just can't let that be how I roll. However, can we all use the Thumper rule? Don't have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.**_

 _ **I hope you are all enjoying this fic. With 2016 I plan to FINISH this fic, FINISH The Long Slow Burn (Paul/Bella) and I have a new fic in the works called IRON AND LACE - It's a Twilight/Avengers crossover (Tony/Bella) and I am sooo in love with this concept! If you're into Avengers crossovers, check out Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She does have an account here but it's easier to get her on Wordpress.. Just use Google.**_

 _ **Happy 2016 everyone. NOW REVIEW!**_


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